The Penn State Nittany Lions are coming into a big season for the team after defying expectations in 2012 after the big scandal and now the team is 2-0 already in 2013 as they welcome the UCF Knights at home in Beaver Stadium at 6 pm on the Big Ten Network.
Penn State has hope this season in the form of young quarterback Christian Hackenberg, who has been playing very well as a freshman through two games, including last week against Eastern Michigan when he threw for 311 yards. Penn State obviously has much to overcome after what happened a couple seasons ago and Bill O'Brien has done a good job at keeping the team focused and the offense will be centered on Hackenberg again when UCF visits on Saturday evening.
Click here for the Penn State and UCF live stream from the Big 12
Penn State had a very solid season last year, but they couldn't get into the conference title game after getting penalties imposed and now they will try and continue that stretch of good play knowing the same result could be ahead. The team opened with a solid win against Syracuse and looked dominant in the 45-7 victory against Eastern Michigan last week. UCF has a very solid offensive unit and the Penn State defense will be on edge after the team won 38-0 last week over Florida International and the Knights will try and continue their productive play on offense.
Last week the Lions rushed for over 250 yards after gaining less than 60 in the victory over Syracuse and O'Brien has felt good about his crew of backs with Zach Zwinak, Bill Belton and Akeel Lynch and they have done a good job of taking pressure of Hackenberg. Penn State could find their way into the top 25 if they keep rolling along this season, but that likely won't happen and now the teams are playing each other for the third time ever, with PSU winning the other two matchups.
The top player to watch for Penn State will be quarterback Blake Bortles and he has a solid arm and is very accurate with the football, as he has not thrown an interception yet this season. Penn State is ranked 25th in the nation in passing yards per game behind Hackenberg's very nice start and the team is getting over 150 yards on the ground per game, while the defense has been fantastic, allowing just 12 points per game through two matchups this season.
Penn State is looking to roll on after UCF, as Kent State and Indiana are on the schedule next before a huge game against Michigan and then the team will play another massive matchup with Ohio State. The team has Illinois and Minnesota next before playing Purdue and then they will finish the season with a home game against Nebraska and a road matchup with Wisconsin.
Check here for the Big Ten Network coverage of the game for Penn State and UCF.
