Fearless Forecast: No. 6 Penn State vs. Northwestern

Northwestern is flying high after a 37-34 overtime win over Minnesota, but they might not soar for long.

This week they host No. 6 Penn State, fresh off a 31-0 evisceration of Iowa. The Nittany Lions have what could be their best team under head coach James Franklin, and that's not something to be said lightly.

Penn State brought back their fearsome running back tandem of Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton, and paired them with talented young quarterback Drew Allar to rank 15th in scoring average through four games. Their defense has allowed just five touchdowns over the same span while forcing 11 turnovers, the most in the nation.

Northwestern has ridden a roller coaster so far this season. A bitter loss at Rutgers, a sigh of relief against UTEP, a disappointing beatdown at Duke and then a thrilling comeback overtime win over Minnesota. For the first time in more than a year, their offense hung 30+ points on a Power Five opponent.

Franklin can make all the jabs he likes about crowd noise, or the lack thereof, but the Wildcats are yet to lose at Ryan Field this season. The odds are stacked heavily against them, with the Nittany Lions installed as a 26.5-point favorite, but there's a reason you play the game.

Can the Wildcats pull off a colossal upset and stay unbeaten at home? Can they beat their first Top-10 opponent since taking down No. 10 Wisconsin in 2020?

We weigh in with our predictions.

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I'm riding high after picking the Wildcats to knock off the Gophers last week, but I can't find a way to pick two upsets in a row. Penn State is on a tear to start the season with their eyes realistically set on competing for a Big Ten title and a College Football Playoff berth. Northwestern's defense has locked in against UTEP and Minnesota, both times shutting teams down completely for a quarter or a half to set up the offense to go to work.

But the Nittany Lions are too good to give even a sliver of an opening. The Wildcats have allowed their opponents to score touchdowns on three of their four opening drives, and have spotted 21-0 leads or larger against all three of their Power Five opponents. Penn State is not a team you comeback on from that large a deficit, or anywhere close to it.

I expect the Wildcats to put up a fight early, fueled by the confidence and momentum from the Minnesota game, but Penn State's talent differential, especially with Allen and Singleton in the backfield, will prove too much in the long term.

Fearless forecast: Penn State 34, Northwestern 10

Try as I might, I can't find a silver lining in the cumulonimbus cloud that is No. 6 Penn State. The Nittany Lions have the No. 1 defense in the nation. They average 40.5 points per game scoring. They have yet to turn the ball over this season.

But last week's White-Out wipeout of Iowa is what's most concerning to me. The Hawkeyes run a zone-heavy, keep-everything-in-front-of-you and bend-but-don't-break defensive system that's very similar to Northwestern's under David Braun, and they're very good at it. And Penn State just obliterated it.

The Nittany Lions simply took what the defense gave them and went up and down the field all night. The numbers were staggering: Penn State ran 97 plays (97!) and held the ball for 45:27, all while Iowa snapped it just 33 times and accumulated four first downs. It was like the Lions vs. the Christians, the Globetrotters vs. the Generals, or the Chiefs vs. the Bears.

Penn State is going to just squeeze the life out of the Cats in a game as numbing as last week's win over Minnesota was thrilling.

Fearless forecast: Penn State 38, Northwestern 13