3 Keys to Penn State Nittany Lions Going Undefeated in the Big Ten

If you asked ten Big Ten fans at the beginning of the year to pick the one team that would be unbeaten in Big Ten play going into November, chances are not one of them would have picked the Nittany Lions.

Coming into the year Penn State had significant questions at quarterback and a defense that was hoping to bounce back after a disappointing 2010 season.  When Matt McGloin is prominently featured in your quarterback competition, don't expect a lot of people to jump on the bandwagon.

Despite little confidence from the public at large coming into the season,  this year Penn State has done an incredible job finding ways to win—be it with suffocating defense, big special teams plays or even a quarter or two of offensive production.  

It hasn't always been pretty, but save for a lopsided loss to Alabama in Week 2 (and let's face it, every loss to Alabama is lopsided) Penn State has done nothing but win games: all the way to 8-1 overall.

As the Nittany Lions head into a bye week, the team is two games ahead in the standings above the two preseason Leader's division favorites.  

Whether Penn State can keep this lead in the standings is entirely dependent on the team's ability to win against three teams in the thick of the race to Indianapolis for the first Big Ten championship game.  

Both Leader's division foes, Wisconsin and Ohio State, are on the schedule and hoping to knock Penn State out of the top spot in the standings, as well as a cross-divisional game against a Nebraska team hell bent on winning out to keep itself in the drivers seat for a Big Ten title game birth.

All three teams have weaknesses, but so does Penn State.  If the Nittany Lions want to take a perfect record into the Big Ten title game, the team will have to take advantage of these matchups.

Nov. 12th vs. Nebraska

Penn State doesn't have the offense to beat Nebraska as soundly as Wisconsin was able to earlier in the season, but keys in the Ohio State and Michigan State games show just what the other team has to do to get a win against Nebraska.

Penn State has to shut down the Nebraska ground attack.  

Michigan State gave this the old college try, and had success in holding Nebraska to just 3.3 yards per rush.  

Rex Burkhead had an impressive game with 130 yards and two touchdowns, but the fact that it took the Nebraska running back 35 carries to do it speaks to how tough the Spartans were to run against.  

Had it not been for an exceptionally poor offensive effort by the Spartans, Michigan State probably keeps this game close.

Nebraska needed only 63 yards of offense to score 10 points in the first half and finished the game with 270 total yards—half of which came from two 80-plus yard touchdown drives in the third quarter.  

If Penn State can avoid turnovers and special teams plays that give Nebraska short fields, there is a very good chance the one dimensional Husker offense isn't good enough to put together methodical drives as long as Penn State plays tough against the run.  

Ohio State had success early against Nebraksa by backing Nebraska up deep (Nebraska's only two scores in the first half came with starting field position at its own 40 yard-line or better, and both were field goals).  

The game only got out of hand when Ohio State lost its only source of offense: Braxton Miller.  

As for Michigan State, giving away five first downs on penalties didn't help to stop the Huskers from putting together two good drives to seal the game.

Penn State's offense won't be able to win a shootout, so Penn State is going to have to turn the game into a punt heavy slugfest—something that, if you have watched Penn State play much this year, you know is right in the team's wheelhouse.  If neither team breaks 14 points: advantage, Penn State.

Nov. 19th at Ohio State

Shutting down the run game against Ohio State is also very important, as the Buckeyes are easily the most unbalanced offense in the conference and live and die by the run.  However, Michigan State showed that this offense can be held in check by a strong defensive front seven—something Penn State has in spades*.

The key matchup will come on the other side of the ball.  

Ohio State is one of the top four rush defenses in the conference and is coming off back to back weeks holding two of the conference's best rushing attacks to 116 (Illinois) and 89 (Wisconsin) yards.  

Penn State hasn't been a dominant rushing unit as a team this year—just 56th nationally—but the Nittany Lions boast one of the nation's most productive running backs in Silas Redd.  

Redd is averaging 111 yards per game at 5.1 yards per rush, which is good for No. 2 in the conference.  

The Nittany Lions have struck a balance on offense between Redd doing most of the heavy lifting while Matt McGloin chips in here and there to help keep the defense off guard.  

If Redd is finding holes in the front seven consistently, and is able to keep the chains moving with some regularity, it allows McGloin to pick his spots and avoid having to force risky throws to make big plays.  

If Penn State hopes to have a chance against Ohio State, Silas Redd is going to have to have a big game on the ground against a tough Buckeye front seven.

*(Disclaimer: Illinois is statistically just as strong as Michigan State and Penn State in defense, but in this writers opinion, the Nittany Lions' effort will be more in line with what Michigan State was able to do than what Illinois had done to it.)

Nov. 26th at Wisconsin

If the Nittany Lions hope to close out the season perfect, the team will have to face its toughest challenge in Madison during the last week of the season.  

Wisconsin is the most dominant offensive team in the league and capable of large scoring swings in a matter of minutes (just ask Ohio State and Michigan State, both of which nearly succumb to a furious Badger comeback).

How does Penn State upset the mighty Badgers?  Well, defense of course.  

Both Michigan State and Ohio State made the Wisconsin offense uncomfortable for long stretches of the game and if Penn State wants to recreate both's success on the scoreboard, defense comes first.

While defense is part of the equation, it isn't the only answer.  

Even against two stellar defensive teams the last two weeks, Wisconsin was able to put up an average of 30 points a game.  

Penn State will have to find a way to get on the scoreboard early and often against Wisconsin.  

While the running game should find a way to be successful, this game more than any other is going to depend on the arm of one Matthew McGloin.

Wisconsin struggled the last two weeks in the passing game.  

First, Michigan State's Kirk Cousins put on a precision passing clinic to the tune of a 70 percent completion rate 290 yards and three touchdowns.  Cousins was able to pick apart the Badger defense with relative ease all night and Spartan receivers constantly picked up yards after the catch.

Against Ohio State things were less pronounced.  Braxton Miller's numbers weren't off the charts, but late in the game when it mattered most, a crucial coverage breakdown left Devin Smith wide open in the end zone for the game winning touchdown.

Matt McGloin is no Kirk Cousins, but he is no Braxton Miller either.  

For the Penn State offense to find a way to keep the game close, McGloin is going to need to make big plays in the passing game without any of his typical Matt McGloin face palm-inducing turnovers.  

Both Cousins (passing) and Miller (running and passing) were linchpins of their team's success against Wisconsin.  Matt McGloin is going to have to play his best game of the season and give the Nittany Lions the kind of offensive balance it needs to keep up with the conference's best.

Can it be done?  Certainly.  

Penn State is one of the top defensive teams in the Big Ten if not the country, and the offense is strong enough on the ground to control the tempo of the game and put up enough points to win defensive battles.  

With a little luck and a cohesive effort on both sides of the ball, this team could still surprise a few skeptics and make it to Indianapolis with a perfect 8-0 record in the conference column.