The biggest and most difficult game of Oregon’s regular season has arrived. A top 10 matchup and rematch of last year’s Big Ten Championship game will be at night for a notorious White Out at Penn State.
The winner takes an early edge in the conference race and will hold a tiebreaker that could prove critical, as Oregon does not play No. 1 Ohio State during the regular season while Penn State does.
No. 6 Oregon (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) vs No. 3 Penn State (3-0)
When: Saturday, Sept. 27
Time: 4:30 p.m. PT
Where: Beaver Stadium, State College, Penn.
TV Channel: NBC (KGW in Portland)
Watch: You can watch this game live for free with Fubo (free trial), or with DirecTV (free trial).
Stream: You can watch this matchup live for FREE with DirecTV (free trial). If you don’t have cable and want to watch today’s game on the cheap, sign up for Peacock Premium ($10.99/month) and get it on NBC’s streaming service to watch Notre Dame, Big Ten and more top college football games this season. You can also get this game on Fubo (free trial), or watch the event live on NBC Live if you already have cable or satellite provider login information.
Penn State this season:
Widely expected to be the top team in the Big Ten entering the season, Penn State returned a lot of its key players on offense and added multiple transfer receivers to bolster its attack. Defensively, the Nittany Lions lost a lot of talent, including Abdul Carter, but added defensive coordinator Jim Knowles from Ohio State.
PSU won its first three games by a combined score of 132-17, albeit against Nevada, FIU and Villanova. Oregon is one of three ranked opponents on Penn State’s schedule, with a trip to Ohio State also being pivotal to the conference race.
Impact player: QB Drew Allar
The top returning quarterback in the Big Ten, Allar has gotten off to a less efficient start than anticipated. His 137.26 quarterback rating is 14th in the conference and his 64.8% completion rate is 11th, against bad competition thus far. Still, Allar has the physical capabilities and talent around him to pose a threat to any opponent.
Impact player: RB Kaytron Allen
Allen ran for 124 yards against Oregon in the Big Ten Championship game last season. He’s averaging over 8 yards per carry in three games this season and has scored in each.
Impact player: RB Nicholas Singleton
Singleton ran for 105 yards on just 10 carries against the Ducks last season. He’s already scored five touchdowns this season and had 20 carries against Villanova.
Impact player: WR Trebor Pena
Syracuse transfer was one of the top additions to Penn State’s offense this offseason. Pena had 13 catches for 166 yards and one touchdown thus far and has added five carries and also returns punts.
Impact player: DE Dani Dennis-Sutton
One of the most disruptive returning players in the Big Ten, Dennis-Sutton had 13 tackles for loss last season. He’s already notched 4.5 tackles for loss with two sacks, two pass breakups and forced two fumbles.
Impact player: LB Amare Campbell
Transfer from North Carolina is leading Penn State with 22 tackles (three for loss).
Did you know?
Penn State’s 292 rushing yards in last year’s Big Ten title game are the most allowed by Oregon under Dan Lanning. The last team Lanning coached to allow that many yards on the ground was Memphis against Navy in 2017.
Oregon won its only prior trip to State College, beating Penn State 22-14 in 1964
Penn State has lost at least one home game in each of the last five seasons. The last time it went undefeated at home was 2019, which was the last year it hosted a prime time White Out.
Threat level (1 lowest to 5 highest): 5
This is the toughest game on Oregon’s schedule and there’s not a close second. Penn State has the firepower on offense, two of the top coordinators in the sport and the most daunting environment to play in the Big Ten. Oregon’s run defense was exposed in last year’s Big Ten title game and it has not faced anything close to the challenge of Penn State yet this season. The Ducks are also a major threat to the Nittany Lions though. This has all the makings of an evenly matched top 10 game.
Early prediction: Penn State 28, Oregon 24
Pregame reading:
Oregon opens as underdog at Penn State
The ‘switch has already flipped’ for No. 6 Oregon with No. 2 Penn State up next
10 takeaways from No. 6 Oregon’s win over Oregon State