Game Preview: Penn State vs. Buffalo

Audio/Story posted September 5, 2019 in CommRadio, Sports by Kyle Cannillo

Matt McClure, Logan Dolby and Caleb Schweiger preview Penn State vs. Buffalo:

Week 2 of the college football season is upon us, and the Penn State Nittany Lions are set to take on the Buffalo Bulls.

Both teams are coming off pretty substantial Week 1 victories. No. 15 Penn State absolutely dismantled Idaho by a final score of 79-7 while Buffalo soundly defeated Robert Morris 38-10.

While Penn State is heavily favored to defeat Buffalo, there are a few key factors to keep an eye on during this primetime contest at Beaver Stadium.

Sean Clifford
The sophomore quarterback is coming off his first career start in which he threw for 280 yards and two touchdowns. While there were flashes of greatness, his first few drives were noticeably shaky. Clifford admitted to the media that he was “nervous” for his time to shine and came out of the gate with some inconsistent throws. However, Clifford quickly rebounded and used his top target KJ Hamler for both of his touchdown throws. It should be interesting to see if a similar issue occurs under the lights on Saturday.

Buffalo’s running back depth
This year’s Bulls offense will rely heavily on its run game. The Nittany Lions will be Buffalo’s toughest opponent this season. If the Bulls want any chance of winning this game, they will need to gain chunks of yardage on the ground. Running backs Jaret Patterson and Kevin Marks did just that last week vs. Robert Morris. Patterson and Marks led the way and, along with a handful of other RBs, totaled 285 rushing yards. Buffalo quarterback Matt Myers struggled mightily, throwing only ten passes and completing half of them. Buffalo will need to go with a ground-and-pound strategy if it wants to give Penn State any contest.

Penn State’s defensive front
By the numbers, Penn State’s defensive front was off the charts last week. The Nittany Lions held Idaho to only seven points, which only happened because of a special teams error. Elsewhere, Penn State recorded 11 tackles for loss and seven sacks. The Nittany Lions surrendered a total of only four rushing yards the entire game. Buffalo quarterback Matt Myers will have to make decisions quickly. Against Robert Morris he only completed half of his throws. If he wants any improvement in that category, he’ll have to make some quick reads. If he doesn’t, defensive end Yetur Gross-Matos will make him pay.

Series history and conference comparison
This isn’t the first time that Buffalo and Penn State have seen each other. Both weaker programs at the time, the two collided in Beaver Stadium in 2015. Penn State pulled off a 27-14 victory in Saquon Barkley’s first-ever 100-yard game. In 2007, they also met in State College. The Nittany Lions won 45-24. But Buffalo does have one win to its name... 119 years ago. In 1900, Buffalo defeated Penn State 10-0. Penn State is the only Power 5 competition on Buffalo’s schedule this season, and the Nittany Lions haven’t fallen to a MAC opponent since Ohio pulled off a road upset in 2012.

Prediction
Under the lights, it's easy to expect a great atmosphere and a good game overall. However, it’s safe to say that Penn State will pull ahead and dominate the Buffalo Bulls.

Prediction: Penn State 42, Buffalo 10

 

Kyle Cannillo is a sophomore studying broadcast journalism. To contact him, email kmc6659@psu.edu.

About the Contributors

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Kyle Cannillo

Junior / Journalism

Kyle Cannillo is involved with CommRadio at Penn State University, producing content such as writing articles, hosting podcasts, participating in live shows and broadcasting play-by-play for Penn State athletics. He is currently a production assistant for Penn State Athletics, doing live video production for BTN + and University Streams. He previously interned with CBS station WTAJ, where he received hands on-experience in all newsroom operations, including reporting, production, camerawork and sports. He has high hopes to be successful in a communication-related career. He is skilled in public speaking, takes initiative, and has a tenacious work ethic. His mission is to use optimism, determination and respect to uncover and report fascinating stories from people who have genuine experiences.

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Matthew McClure

Senior / Broadcast Journalism

With his hard-work and dedication to excellence, Matthew McClure looks to achieve future goals in sports broadcasting. He is from Glenmoore, Pennsylvania and a senior broadcast journalism major at Pennsylvania State University. He has experience working in sports and is willing to work outside his comfort zone. Matthew served as an active member at CommRadio, where he performed many different play by play broadcasts, wrote articles, and is a host of his NBA talk radio show Half Court. The past two summers, Matthew moved to Florida to work as an communications intern at the Florida Collegiate Summer Baseball League. There, he broadcasted every game for the Seminole County Scorpions, and was presented with the Sara Whiting Young Professionals Award.

Logan Dolby's photo

Logan Dolby

Senior / Broadcast Journalism

Logan Dolby is a senior studying broadcast journalism, and is an all around sports fan. He loves everything about sports. He is from Pulaski, Pennsylvania. Currently, he is working towards perfecting his ability of crafting his sports takes and working with all of the technology required for a job in broadcast journalism.
He has experience with Adobe Audition and Premiere, as well as editing, broadcasting play by play, producing, working a sound board and podcasting. He also has two years of experience in hosting a live radio show, Half Court.