Week 2 College football upset picks No. 3: Penn State Nittany Lions
Rank: 11 | Opponent: Ball State Cardinals | Time: Saturday, Sept. 11, 3:30 p.m. ET
Penn State made one of the biggest statements of the first week in college football as they went to Camp Randall and knocked off a top-15 Wisconsin team. No, it wasn’t the prettiest of games but, after a down year in 2020, the Nittany Lions showed that they are here to play in the 2021 campaign.
Having said that, James Franklin’s team was tremendous defensively but much less so offensively. Sean Clifford barely completed more than half of his passes and their leading rusher had only 48 yards on the day. That was the big concern for this Penn State team coming into this season and, even in the win, they did little to alleviate that.
Now, Ball State isn’t exactly a juggernaut. They beat Western Illinois by 10 points last week if that gives you any indication. With that said, the Cardinals are one of the most experienced teams in FBS this season with a litany of super seniors returning for one more season.
For a team like Penn State with concerns about offensive consistency, playing a veteran-laden team like the Cardinals could be tricky. If the Nittany Lions make too many mistakes, a team with experience can take full advantage of that. Subsequently, this has to be considered a bit of a trap game for Franklin’s team, especially with a matchup with Auburn on deck.