Written by Phil Shie | 17 November 2011

Sure, Ohio State and Penn State will set offensive football back a couple decades Saturday, but that doesn't mean we can't talk about it. Derek Aschman of the Penn State blog Nittany Lions Den was kind enough to answer a few questions before this much-anticipated field goal extravagaza.

1) Is there any way to gauge where this Penn State team is emotionally after the past two weeks? Obviously the whole Sandusky thing and subsequent Paterno resignation is a distraction and then a close loss to Nebraska. What kind of team shows up in Ohio Stadium Saturday?

This Nittany Lion squad has the best senior leadership of any team since 2005.  This has shown throughout the year in close wins against Iowa and Purdue as well as last minute wins against Temple, Indiana and Illinois.  Even rallying from being down by seventeen to Nebraska was a product of great leadership. That being said, there is not a team in America that could ignore Modern Warfare 3 being released everything that has occurred here in Happy Valley.  Mike McQueary was the only offensive coach on the sideline, and Joe Paterno is Joe Paterno.  Every website is slandering people these players love.  Even tonight I see the athletes tweeting about South Park’s rendition of State College.  There simply is no way this team could go on unaffected. Still, getting on with the question, I think the team has pulled themselves together in an unbelievable way.  The biggest problem this Saturday, in respect to the scandal, is with coaching.  At the end of the day Penn State is down two coaches and has no offensive guys left on the sideline.  If Penn State pulls themselves together, Tom Bradley will deserve much of the credit.


2) Outside of Devon Still, who's been dominant this year, I don't know much about this Penn State defense. What other players are standing out this season for the Lions?

What this Nittany Lions’ defense lacks in star-power, they gain in team chemistry.  Devon Still is definitely an impressive physical specimen though, and OLB Gerald Hodges played lights out through October.  Hodges’ speed and ability to shed blockers has made opponents’ east-west running game a nightmare.  The most underrated player on the defense, in my humble opinion, is S Drew Astorino.  Astorino has no business being a Division I player given his size, but he plays smart and fast, and creates as many problems in the backfield as anybody.  With Hodges likely to play spy against Braxton Miller, expect Astorino to blitz at select times throughout the game and be a nuisance to any screens or flares to the outside.

3) Matt McGloin's numbers aren't fantastic, but he's steady. Can he make enough big plays through the air to open up some room for Silas Redd on the ground?

No. Look, I love McGloin’s passion as much as the next guy, but he is not going to make any big plays.  Luckily for him, he has a great batch of wide-receivers who can make him look good.  Derek Moye is a tall receiver with good hands, and is as good as any WR in the conference.  Justin Brown is big and able create separation as well as anybody, and Devon “Moo Moo” Smith has lethal speed on crossing patterns. What makes McGloin affective is that he knows his strengths and he knows his many limitations.  Specifically, he throws nearly every ball to a place where only his guy, if anybody, can catch it.  Often times it’s over-thrown, but rarely is it in an area where a defender can get a hand on the ball.  The rest of the job comes down to the receivers, who have not always had the best hands this season, to make the grab and gain some yards.

4) Penn State has won a number of close games this year until the loss to Nebraska. Has there been one factor that has helped the Lions keep winning close games?

Heart.  The defense doesn’t allow big plays, even though they’re on the field most of the game, because they play with tremendous heart and chemistry.  On the flipside, the offense is unspectacular and knows it.  Still, when time was running out against teams such as Temple and Illinois, the offense has stepped and somehow made the plays that were necessary. None of the games have been pretty thus far, but tremendous heart and leadership has led to a lot of Ws this season for the Nittany Lions.

5) Give me a prediction. Does Penn State come out with a win Saturday?

Predictions…hmmmm… Penn State struggles against scrambling quarterback and all defenses.  Sadly, Ohio State is pretty good in both of those places, which doesn’t bode well for Penn State.  Ultimately, I think those factors, as well as the off-the-field distractions surrounding the program, become too much to handle.  Ohio State gets a few points on the board and Penn State’s anemic offense doesn’t get it done against a very good Buckeye defense.  I know I’ll get yelled at for saying this, but my objective guess is 10-6 Ohio State.