No. 8 Penn State is looking solid heading into a Saturday showdown with Bowling Green

Penn State remains at No. 8 in the Associated Press college football poll after its 34-12 victory at West Virginia.

All seven teams ahead of the Nittany Lions (1-0) in the poll won. No. 1 Georgia and No. 5 Notre Dame beat ranked opponents, while No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Texas, No. 4 Alabama, and No. 6 Mississippi all beat lesser teams handily.

At home, No. 7 Oregon struggled in a 24-14 win over Idaho, an FCS team, causing the Ducks to slip four spots from preseason No. 3.

Penn State will open the home portion of its schedule against Bowling Green on Saturday (noon, Big Ten Network). The Falcons (1-0) opened their season with a 41-17 win over Fordham, an FCS program, on Thursday.

When Bowling Green visits Beaver Stadium, it will mark the third meeting between the Falcons and the Nittany Lions. Penn State holds a 2-0 advantage, with its last win coming in 1998. However, the Nittany Lions are familiar with the Mid-American Conference, having seen a MAC opponent in 21 of the last 23 seasons.

Bowling Green has Big Ten ties. Coach Scot Loeffler played quarterback from 1993-96 at Michigan and spent time on the Wolverines staff as a quarterbacks coach. Senior quarterback Connor Bazelak spent 2022 in Indiana under Tom Allen after starting his career in Missouri. Allen is now Penn’s defensive coordinator. Bazelak spent 2023 with the Falcons, passing for 1,935 yards over 11 games.

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Penn State coach James Franklin assessed Bowling Green as a “big, physical group.”

“You look at them offensively, it’s essentially [Loeffler]’s offense,” Franklin said. “He calls the offense. He has done that for most of his career, and they did a really good job and put up big numbers this past week. They’re a run-first offense, predominantly, but do a good job at the quarterback position and taking shots where appropriate.”

In his news conference Monday, Franklin compared this season’s opening win over West Virginia to last season’s.

“If you look at last year, we gave up 15 points — this year we gave up 12,” Franklin said.

Franklin’s comparative focus fell on the defense, which limited the Mountaineers to 246 total yards and created three turnovers. Last season’s defense, which ranked third in opponents’ points per game in the Football Bowl Subdivision, gave up 308 yards to the Mountaineers.

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“Our defense played better, and then not only did they play better, they played better on the road without the home environment,” Franklin said.

Abdul Carter got his first game experience at defensive end after playing his first two seasons at linebacker. Carter, who was first-team All-Big Ten in 2023, recorded one tackle against the Mountaineers.

“I thought he played really well, [he] was disruptive,” Franklin said. “We talk in our building about real football. Study more than just statistics. So, there are times where he’s taking on two blockers, where a couple of them I think could have been called holding, where he’s splitting two blockers, and they’re unable to come off — either a linebacker or another defensive lineman gets the sack or tackle for loss.”

Franklin said he expects Carter to be a key contributor to the Nittany Lions defense this season.

“I thought his first game as a full-time defensive end was very disruptive and I think he’s just going to get better each week,” Franklin said.

As expected, junior quarterback Drew Allar led the Nittany Lions offense on Saturday. However, redshirt sophomore quarterback Beau Pribula played some in quarterback run packages. Pribula rushed three times for 35 yards and threw a 19-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.

“It’s a real positive for us, because although Drew obviously is showing he can make plays with his feet, Beau has that ability at a different level and [is] a little bit more of a playmaker,” Franklin said.

Pribula said Tuesday that gaining experience with the Nittany Lions has helped him step up in important spots.

“To play and get that experience last year in big moments like the Peach Bowl, I think that was big to gain that experience and take meaningful snaps,” Pribula said. “It was a lot easier and more comfortable for me to get in there in big moments like the first third down and various snaps throughout the game.”

Franklin mentioned that Pribula could be used in a Wildcat package, a two-quarterback set, as a runner or receiver.

“[I] want to make sure it’s not the same things you’re seeing out of him each week,” Franklin said.

Junior safety Kevin Winston Jr. took home Big Ten defensive player of the week honors for his play against West Virginia. Winston matched his career high in tackles with 12, seven of which were solos. He is the Nittany Lions’ first Big Ten defensive player of the week since safety Ji’Aiyr Brown won the award on Sept. 19, 2022.