Penn State football has a chance at history against Northwestern

The Penn State football team has a shot at something they have done since the late 1990s. That is shutting out consecutive opponents. It’s not the easiest milestone to accomplish; however, with the way that this defense is playing, I wouldn’t put it past them. It’s difficult to remember the last time a game was so lopsided as what we saw against Iowa in the whiteout. The Penn State defense has caused nine turnovers in the past two games. If they can come up with more against Northwestern, then they should be in a position to shut them out.

Penn State football has a chance at history against Northwestern

The last time Penn State shut out opponents in back-to-back games was during the 1996 season. With Joe Paterno at the helm, the Nittany Lions defeated Northern Illinois 49-0 and followed that up by defeating Temple 41-0. Now, fast forward to the 2023 season, and the Penn State football team finds themselves in a position to do that again.

Northwestern is not going to be shut out easily. This is a team that has found something in their passing game. But it’s the defensive line and secondary that makes it hard to believe that they will move the ball at all.

During the Iowa game, the Nittany Lions were in total control. Many of the star defensive players commented on their performance after the game. They held the Hawkeyes to just 76 total yards of offense. The defense also forced four fumbles in this game as well.

James Franklin does a great job helping the team find a way to stay motivated. It wouldn’t surprise me if he brought up this chance at doing something that has been done in 27 years.

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