Kevin joins us once again to preview the weekend in local college football action. For more of Kevin’s college football insight visit Nittany White Out and Examiner.
After Penn State took a major blow to the chin last week at home against Ohio State, I figured I would lead with another look at the wonderful story that is unfolding with the Temple football program. The Owls are going for their eighth straight win tonight on the road as they take on MAC East rival Akron. At 5-0 in the MAC Temple is in position to control their own destiny for a MAC East division title. With Ohio losing on Tuesday the Owls are the lone unbeaten team in the division with three games left. They can not let up!
To come away with a road win at Akron Temple will need quarterback Vaughn Charlton to make some smart decisions against an Akron defense that has allowed 232 points this season. Charlton has passed for 1,200 yards and nine touchdowns. But freshman running back Bernard Pierce is the real story of the offense. Pierce has rushed for 1,211 yards and 14 touchdowns.
PENN STATE
See what happens when you lose your second home game of the season under th microscope? You get put behind Temple for another week.
The Nittany Lions look to pick up a win in the final home game at Beaver Stadium of 2009. Prior to the game the team will honor their senior players, including quarterback Daryll Clark and linebacker Sean Lee. To say that the seniors would love nothing more than to go out of Beaver Stadium with a bang would be an understatement. Some people feel that there is the slightest outside chance that Penn State can reach a BCS game (I am not one of them) so they would need to play a pair of solid victories and handily beat their opponents.
This week Penn State takes on Indiana, a team the Nittany Lions have never lost too (12-0 going into Saturday’s game). The Hoosiers have been the victim of some poor officiating and video reviews this season. Under head coach Bill Lynch they have shown a toughness not normally associated with Indiana’s football program. I expect to see Indiana play Penn State tough, but given the circumstances and result of last week’s game, I think Penn State finds a way to pull away from the visitors early in the game.
VILLANOVA, PENN
Villanova moved up to #3 in the nation after coming away with a big victory last week at top ranked Richmond. The Wildcats are now in the driver’s seat in the CAA South. This week they travel to Towson and should come home with a victory to make them 9-1 heading into their regular season finale against rival Delaware. A win against Towson would also officially put Villanova in first place in the division (they currently are a half game behind Richmond, and they own the head-to-head tie-breaker)
As for the Quakers, the winning ways continue in the Ivy League. A blowout of Princeton gave Penn a six game winning streak. This week’s game at Harvard sets up to be the Ivy League championship game as both teams enter with identical 5-0 records in the league (both are also 6-2 overall). The winner will clinch the Ivy League title with one week remaining. Harvard looks to be the favorite with a superior offense, but Penn’s defense looks to be stronger than the Crimson’s.
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