Nevada coach Jeff Choate gives early thoughts on Penn State

We are 11 days away from the start of the 2025 Penn State football season. While the season-opener doesn’t have the makings of an instant classic on paper, it will provide us with our first opportunity to assess the prospective national title contender Nittany Lions this fall.

As the Blue and White begin to transition out of training camp and into game prep, so too does their Week 1 opponent. On Friday, Nevada head coach Jeff Choate provided an update on the Wolfpack as they prepare to make the cross-country trip to Happy Valley next week.

“We’re going to be tested right away,” he said following the program’s final scrimmage of fall camp. “So, we’ll learn a lot about ourselves when we go to Penn State.”

Nevada preparing for powerful Penn State rushing attack

Jan 9, 2025; Miami, FL, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions running back Nicholas Singleton (10) runs the ball in for a touch down in the first half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Going 3-10 in year one under Choate, Nevada will enter Beaver Stadium next Saturday as a six-touchdown underdog. The Wolfpack were a bottom-third team against the run last fall, allowing nearly 200 yards per contest on the ground.

Preparing to face one of the nation’s best backfield tandems in Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, Choate has emphasized defensive fundamentals throughout camp. 

“I think we’ve tackled relatively well all fall,” he said. “That’s something I’ve been pretty pleased with. We’re going to be tested tremendously Week 1 because they’ve got two of the better backs in the country coming back at Penn State. So, it’s all well and good until you’re playing for real.”

Choate discusses handling Beaver Stadium atmosphere

Besides the three-hour time difference and logistical obstacles of traveling to State College, perhaps the biggest environmental obstacle Nevada will face next week is the Beaver Stadium crowd.

The Wolfpack are preparing for the atmosphere by looking to one of the last Group of Five teams to face the Nittany Lions, Bowling Green. The Falcons nearly pulled an upset in Happy Valley last season, leading 27-24 at halftime before Penn State escaped with a 10-point win. 

“I think that’s going to be something we’re going to have to operate with [at Penn State],” Choate said of working with a silent snap count. “I know watching the film and seeing Bowling Green a year ago, they pretty much went exclusively with a SONAR type of [system], where the guard’s tapping off the quarterback.

“That was something that we needed to get good work in. And that’s easy to do in a practice, but when you’re doing it in a scrimmage setting, you get a little bit more real work.”

You can watch Choate’s full update as captured by Nevada Sports Net here. 

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