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Northwestern Upsets Penn State in New Ryan Field Debut
Confirmed
In Short: Northwestern's victory marked a significant upset, as Penn State had been favored by 21 points and was coming off a loss to Wisconsin.
Northwestern's Caleb Komolafe rushed for a career-high 188 yards and a touchdown, leading the Wildcats to a 34-13 victory over Penn State in the new Ryan Field's inaugural game.
The $875 million stadium, which seats 35,000, was built on the same site as the former Ryan Field and saw Northwestern set season highs with 413 rushing yards and 506 total yards.
Penn State's Carson Hansen had an 8-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, but Northwestern's Joseph Himon responded with two rushing touchdowns of his own.
Northwestern's Chip Kelly-led offense and defense dominated Penn State, allowing only 13 points and limiting the Nittany Lions to 507 total yards.
Despite the upset, Penn State's College Football Playoff hopes remain dim, with some analysts suggesting the team might struggle to reach a bowl game.
The game marked a significant shift in the Big Ten's power dynamics, with Northwestern proving to be a formidable opponent.
The new Ryan Field's impact on the game's atmosphere and team performance is a topic of discussion among analysts and fans.
What's confirmed
- Northwestern's Caleb Komolafe rushed for a career-high 188 yards and a touchdown, leading the Wildcats to a 34-13 victory over Penn State in the new Ryan Field's inaugural game.
- The $875 million stadium, which seats 35,000, was built on the same site as the former Ryan Field and saw Northwestern set season highs with 413 rushing yards and 506 total yards.
- Penn State's Carson Hansen had an 8-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, but Northwestern's Joseph Himon responded with two rushing touchdowns of his own.
- Northwestern's Chip Kelly-led offense and defense dominated Penn State, allowing only 13 points and limiting the Nittany Lions to 507 total yards.
- Despite the upset, Penn State's College Football Playoff hopes remain dim, with some analysts suggesting the team might struggle to reach a bowl game.
- The game marked a significant shift in the Big Ten's power dynamics, with Northwestern proving to be a formidable opponent.
- The new Ryan Field's impact on the game's atmosphere and team performance is a topic of discussion among analysts and fans.
What's still developing
- "All the credit to our players," Northwestern coach David Braun said in his postgame, on-field interview on Fox.
- "First of all, I want to give Northwestern a ton of credit, because they played the style of game that we, obviously, would like to play," Campbell said.
- At no point in Week 4 was Penn State the better team than Wisconsin; Colton Joseph just kept giving the Nittany Lions the ball.
- Penn State gave up 507 total yards and 414 on the ground with a 58% success rate and 7.7 yards per play.
- 4 Miami visits Clemson as a 16.5-point favorite in college football Week 5, and four of these seven spread picks lay the points, starting with Penn State at Northwestern on Friday night.
- MORE: Week 5 college football prediction market picks: Pitt, West Virginia upset bets Penn State blew a 17-0 lead in a 24-20 home loss to Wisconsin last Saturday and fell out of the AP Top 25.
- Northwestern covered as a 21-point underdog in a 29-23 loss at Indiana last week.
- In fact, Northwestern is currently favored over Iowa in a few weeks according to ESPN Analytics.
- Northwestern (2-1, 0-1 B1G) hosts a reeling Penn State squad (3-1, 0-1 B1G) coming off a shocking upset loss at home to Wisconsin — the first team out of the AP Top 25 this week.
- But tonight isn’t the night for that to happen, even as banged up as Northwestern is.
- No, I’m not going to argue the Northwestern defensive scheme or the high-octane offense, but I’m going to base this off the fact that Ryan Field will be the most hostile environment in all of college football this weekend.
- Northwestern football is obsessed with becoming a powerhouse in the Big Ten and its not shy in making it known to the public.