Five reasons for concern for Penn State against Northwestern

While Penn State will almost certainly be heavy favorites yet again at home against the Northwestern Wildcats, those projections look ever more precarious after the events of last week. After all, if they can lose to UCLA, why can't they be beaten by Northwestern, a team that was able to handle their business against the Bruins and are playing confident football? Make no ands, ifs, or buts about it, there are no weak opponents left on Penn State's schedule, and Northwestern is no exception. All bets are off for the Nittany Lions, so prepare for even more chaos in this matchup. Here are five reasons Penn State should be concerned about the Northwestern Wildcats.

Northwestern's elite third down defense

This is a clear strength versus weakness in terms of how Northwestern will plan for this game. Northwestern stops third down conversions very effectively, only allowing 33.33% to be converted. Penn State's struggles on third down continue to hamper this offense. They now rank 71st in the nation, converting only 40% of their third downs. One player Penn State's O-line needs to look out for is edge rusher Anto Saka, who already has 6 tackles on the year and a sack. His propensity to get after the quarterback could really shake some things up in Penn State's game plan.

They also force a lot of turnovers

Not only does Northwestern's defense do a good job of getting off the field, they also do a good job of turning you over. Despite the offense's troubles with turnovers, the defense have been holding up their end of the bargain with 2 picks and a forced fumble this season. Grad student Mac Uihlein leads the charge in the middle of the park with both INTs for the Wildcats this year. An interesting fact about Uihlein this season is he was also the first player to intercept Dante Moore. If Drew Allar looks erratic at any point in this game, this defense can take advantage and win the turnover battle.

Caleb Komolafe emerging as lead back

A lot of Northwestern fans probably thought the experienced RB tandem of Cam Porter and Joseph Himon II would carry this team offensively. However, that hasn't entirely been the case. While the run game has kept this team afloat a new name has emerged at the top of the RB pecking order. Penn State fans will be introduced to sophomore Caleb Komolafe, who leads the Wildcats in rushing with 344 yards on just 76 carries. His physicality will really a Penn State run defense who is reeling after two straight weeks of being exposed by elite running back rooms and mobile quarterbacks. Komolafe could make three and continue to compound Penn State's run D woes.

O-line bolstered by experience

While Caleb Komolafe can handle a heavy workload, his O-line more than helps him in that department. Northwestern's O-line may have gone under the radar in the preseason, but they are far exceeding expectations. Led by stalwart senior Caleb Tiernan, who also has the highest pass blocking grad on PFF and two elite transfers in Evan Beerntsen and Martes Lewis, this O-line gets massive push up front, consistently ranking in the top five nationally in run-blocking grades in the first five weeks of the season. This spells even more trouble up front for the Nittany Lion's D.

Penn State could still be ruing both losses

This one is definitely more psychological than anything that the Wildcats can offer on the field, but it could be a massive hurdle for Penn State to overcome mentally. In two weeks time, they went from a top 5 team and a CFP contender to barely hanging on in the race for a bid. The fashion in which they lost both games is even more unsettling. Losing at home against an elite Ducks squad during the Whiteout in an impassioned comeback effort is one thing. Flying across the country to lose to an 0-4 UCLA squad fighting for their lives for a win is quite another. I would not be surprised if Penn State didn't come out as focused as they can be. After all, it was a long, painful plane ride home.

This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Five reasons for concern for Penn State against Northwestern