Penn State Vs. University Of Central Florida Preview - Game 3

The Nittany Lions will face their first true test of the season on September 14 against the Central Florida Knights. The kickoff is at 6:00 pm at Beaver Stadium and will be televised on the Big Ten Network. The crazy atmosphere inside the stadium, which is sometimes used to the Lions’ advantage, will not faze the Knights. The Knights are coming off of an impressive ten win season with one of their few losses coming from the Ohio State Buckeyes, who they played away the second week of the season last year and lost just 31 - 16. The Buckeyes finished the season undefeated. Penn State will have to play a very strong game on the defensive side of the ball in order to win this game. The Knights return several players from last year’s offense. Their quarterback, junior Blake Bortles, threw for 3,059 yards, 25 touchdowns, and just 4 interceptions last year. Bortles will have a lot of experienced receivers to choose from as well; juniors Jeff Godfrey, Rannell Hall, and J.J. Worton all had at least 30 receptions and over 400 yards receiving. The Nittany Lions secondary especially need to keep an eye on Hall, who during the last season averaged 18 yards per catch. If Penn State can't keep the Knights off the board the game will most likely become a shootout. The Knights defense is very young and inexperienced. They lost two starters in the secondary; one of which was the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year. The Knight’s defensive line is very young and will struggle to get through Penn State's experienced offensive line. I believe this game will be high scoring and closer than most predict. Eventually Penn State will shut down Bortles and keep the Knights off the scoreboard. Penn State 37 UCF 21.