Big Ten vs. SEC | Tampa, Fla. Raymond James Stadium |
Jan. 1 1 p.m. |
ABC |
BS: The
Nittany Lions finished 7-5, only 4-4 in the Big 10, coming off an 11-2 season.
What have been the problems this year and also some positives?
Ben Jones: Simply put
Penn
State ’s biggest weakness has been
it’s youth. During the past two 11-2 seasons
Penn
State had an amazingly high turnaround
between each year losing very few key players. This year on the other hand
there are 40+ underclassmen on the roster and several of them have filled in
for injury or started in key roles. In a lot of ways though the high level of
skill these younger players have will only work to Penn State’s advantage in
the future, guys like Silas Redd and Devon Smith have really stepped up their
game this year.
BS:
The offense had problems scoring. However, it seemed to improve over the second
half of the season. Who are the key players on this
offense?
Ben Jones: I think this really can be attributed to
Penn
State growing as a team
over the course of the year. The more confident they got the better they
played. To their credit however the early season struggles were not always
reflective of their offensive outputs. For example, Rob Bolden passed for over
200 yards against
Alabama but was unable to find the endzone.
While the redzone was an issue in the early going, it wasn’t as if
Penn
State was facing a 3 and out every time
they took the field. If
Florida has a list of 4 players they need to
worry about though it’s the Evan Royster/Silas Redd combo, Devon Smith for
his speed and playmaking ability and Derek Moye. Derek Moye has maybe taken the
biggest leap in his game this season turning into a top 5 receiver in the Big
Ten. He runs good routes and has great hands. Between a solid running game, and
a very solid receiving core,
Penn
State ’s record is easily not a
representation of what it could be.
BS: The defense was solid, giving up 22.6 points a game. What have been
the keys to their success and who are some players to watch?
Ben Jones: Penn
State will always have a solid defense, it’s
a trademark of the program. However this season
Penn
State hasn’t been blessed with one
house hold name they’re used to having. Instead the defense has been a
patched together unit that has suffered the loss of 11 different players over
the course of the season. In regards to the bowl game, Michael Mauti ought to
be fully healthy after missing the second half of the
Ohio
State game. His ability at linebacker
could grow into another great at
Linebacker
U. Other than that it’s usually a
different player that steps up every game. Two guys to watch though would be
D'anton Lynn at corner and Nate Stupar at linebacker.
BS:
If you could choose one player to have a breakout performance in the bowl game,
who would it be?
Ben Jones: Silas Redd. While this wouldn’t be a breakout performance in regards to knowing he can ball, it would be great to see him give fans a preview of what it’ll be like as Redd being the feature back next year. If Redd could really carry for some solid yards along with Royster I think it would make a lot of Penn State fans happy.
Thanks a lot to Ben Jones. Check him out at VictoryBellRings.com