Penn State Has Clear Advantage It Needs to Exploit vs Washington

The Penn State Nittany Lions were able to stop their four-game losing streak last week by defeating the Purdue Boilermakers.

Penn State now moves to 4-4 for the season, with the team preparing for a big game this week. The Nittany Lions will be heading on the road to face off against the Washington Huskies as the team tries to build some momentum for the rest of the year.

In the win over Purdue last week, the Nittany Lions were able to rush for 269 yards, showing force on the ground. Penn State may want to keep the rushing attack going strong this week, opening up other lanes on offense.

But there is one area in the upcoming game that Penn State has to exploit if they want to take down the Huskies. This has to do from the Nittany Lions' defense, and the way that they have defended the pass this year.

Penn State has allowed 141.4 passing yards per game this year, which is the third best around the country. Washington is coming into the game averaging 276.8 passing yards per game, which ranks 21st in the nation.

The Nittany Lions have done an excellent job on third down, allowing opponents to convert only 27 percent of the time. This has given the team chances to win games, but the unit just hasn't been able to make it happen.

But this matches up very well against a Huskies team that has converted only 33 percent on third down, showing a clear advantage for Penn State this week. If the Nittany Lions can get off the field on third down, it could help set the team up well to get a win on the road.

The other key for Penn State will need to be not allowing scores in the red zone, which has been a problem this year. The Nittany Lions rank 128th in the nation in red zone defense, allowing opposing teams to score on 95 percent of trips.

For Washington, their goal-line offense ranks 40th in the country, scoring on 88.2 percent of trips to the red zone. This will be another key part of the game to watch between the two teams, to see which trend stays or breaks this week.

Kickoff for the game between the Nittany Lions and the Huskies is set for 12:30 p.m. PT/3:30 p.m. ET from Husky Stadium in Seattle.