As Penn State cornerback A.J. Harris put it this week, the Ohio State loss is “no longer the moment” for the Nittany Lions. Penn State (7-1) still controls its destiny regarding the College Football Playoff, whose pursuit begins against Washington on Saturday in the annual White Out game.

Penn State tasks itself with handling a 5-4 Huskies squad that’s certainly beatable (losses to Washington State, Rutgers, Iowa, Indiana), but also certainly has enough strengths to pull off an upset. With that, here are the keys for James Franklin’s group to emerge from the White Out with an 8-1 record.

Penn State vs. Washington: Story lines, preview, predictions

Getting downfield completions from the receivers

Last week’s loss to the Buckeyes was by far the worst production that Penn State’s generated at wide receiver through eight games. That’s not a complete surprise, as the Buckeyes boast the third-ranked pass defense (161.5 passing yards allowed per game) in the Big Ten. But Washington brings the conference’s top-ranked secondary (142.0 passing yards allowed per game) to Beaver Stadium.

Getting the wide receivers more involved isn’t just an emphasis for the sake of distributing the ball. Penn State’s ability to make explosive plays has waned after an excellent start to the season. Earlier, quarterback Drew Allar occasionally was able to air out the ball and open the field for offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki. 

“I have a ton of confidence in that [wide receiver] room,” Allar said Wednesday. “Obviously, a way to be explosive is throwing the ball down the field. But again, we won’t have those opportunities to throw the ball down the field if we’re not staying ahead of the sticks and we’re not in rhythm.”

Against one of the best pass defenses in the country, Penn State could use more production, especially in stretching the field, from its top four receivers: Tre Wallace, Liam Clifford, Julian Fleming and Omari Evans. Unlike in the Ohio State matchup, the Nittany Lions can probably win this game without highlight receiver play. But given how the receiving unit has performed recently, Kotelnicki’s offense could use the boost at the position. Further, a rekindled chemistry between Allar and his receivers could be key moving forward.

A bounceback game from Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen

Elsewhere in Penn State’s offense, running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen haven’t been their dominant selves recently. The Nittany Lions built their identity primarily around their strong ground game, yet neither running back has topped 100 rushing yards since Allen vs. Illinois on September 28. Last week, tight end Tyler Warren led Penn State in rushing with 47 yards.

Franklin could use a bounceback performance from his junior running backs against Washington. They should have a strong opportunity for one as well, with the Huskies currently allowing the fifth-most rushing yards per game (150.8) in the Big Ten. 

Not unlike the issues with its receiving core, Penn State’s offense hasn’t fully been able to play to its strengths since its 33-30 overtime win at USC. Against Wisconsin, Allar missed the entire second half, and while backup quarterback Beau Pribula managed the unit well in a 28-13 win, the offense’s dominant ground game, creativity and explosiveness wasn’t as evident. Against the Buckeyes, the offense then managed just 3.8 yards per carry on top of the struggling receiving core.

The White Out is, in many ways, an opportunity for Penn State to return to the strengths that helped it reach the No. 3 ranking in the AP Top 25. Getting Singleton and Allen back in rhythm is a significant component of that strength. 

Why is the White Out on Peacock?

Containing Will Rogers’ connection with his top receivers

Washington quarterback Will Rogers poses the biggest threat to the Nittany Lions when he’s in rhythm with his top two wide receivers, Denzel Boston and Giles Jackson. Through Washington’s first nine games, both have at least 50 receptions (55 for Jackson, 53 for Boston) while combining for 1,279 receiving yards. Boston’s nine receiving touchdowns also lead the Big Ten.

Penn State’s secondary will have some work to do in slowing Rogers, Boston and Jackson. Rogers, a senior who spent four seasons at Mississippi State, has had just one game with fewer than 200 passing yards this season. He doesn’t make mistakes often, with just four interceptions against his 13 touchdown passes, and has been efficient, completing 71.1 percent of his 277 throws.

If Penn State’s going to slow down the Huskies’ offense, forcing incompletions on key passing plays, being prepared for quick passes from Rogers and keeping Boston and Jackson’s impact to a minimum will be essential. 

“[Rogers] gets the ball out fast. He knows [where] he’s going with the ball. He’s a pro-style quarterback who knows what he’s doing,” Harris said. “We just look forward to sticking to our technique, just trying to compete versus those guys. It’s a great group of wide receivers, but we just look at giving our all and trying to take care of that business.”

Washington isn’t the same team that went 14-1 and played for the national championship in 2023. However, the Huskies also aren’t a team to take lightly this season. They may have four losses, but if Penn State starts slow or thinks it can coast to a bounceback victory, the team easily could leave the White Out with its second consecutive loss. 

“We’ve got to make sure that one loss doesn’t turn into two,” Franklin said. “We’ve got to make sure we moved on [from the Ohio State loss]. We’ve got to find a way to get a win against a really good Washington team coming into our place.”

Penn State will host Washington at 8 p.m. ET Saturday at Beaver Stadium. The game will be streamed on Peacock.

More Penn State Football

Penn State injury updates heading into the Washington game

Nittany Lions say they’re “dialed in” on Washington

Drew Allar reflects on passing game and Ohio State

Daniel Mader, a May 2024 graduate of Penn State, is an Editorial Intern with The Sporting News. As a student journalist with The Daily Collegian, he served as a sports editor and covered Nittany Lions women’s basketball, men’s volleyball and more. He has also covered Penn State football for NBC Sports and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, with additional work in the Centre Daily Times, Lancaster Online and more. Follow him on X @DanielMader_  or Instagram @dmadersports. 

Max Vrooman

Last week I provided the stunning analysis that narrative dictated all of UW’s games which meant they would win at home and I would’ve nailed the final score if USC had kicked one more field goal during their 4 failed trips inside UW territory.

This week the narrative clearly dictates that the Huskies are doomed but I’d like to layer on some serious analysis this time. My city league ultimate team is 6-1 and the #2 seed entering the playoffs which start of Saturday. The only game we lost was during the UW bye week. Otherwise, somehow the schedule has somehow put 6 of the 7 games (including this week) while UW is away from Husky Stadium. That means I can actually go to them but also means that the Huskies are 0-4 playing on a weekend when I have an ultimate game I can go to. Sorry Dawgs.

Oh and I guess I’ll also add that this seems a horrendous matchup for the Huskies even if you ignore the travel and the raucous stadium environment. Penn State has edge rusher Abdul Carter who is a likely top-ten pick and is 2nd in the B1G in pass rush grade per PFF and t-3rd in total QB pressures. I don’t have a lot of confidence in UW’s OL to be able to block him. On the other side, Penn State is a team that basically doesn’t throw to their WRs which negates one of UW’s biggest strengths on defense. I’ll be fascinated to see if Coach Belichick does something dramatic like put Ephesians Prysock on their star TE Tyler Warren who is really the only threat in the passing game.

Penn St 27 – UW 12

Collin O’Meara

In Steve Sarkisian’s first year as Husky HC (2009), the Dawgs took a 3-7 record into the final two weeks of the season, and generated home blowouts vs WSU (30-0) and Cal (42-10). I remember the feeling that something had clicked with that year’s team, that the team had shed its ineptitude of the Willingham years and had been transformed into something entirely different. Fast forward to 2024 and the situation now isn’t even comparable to that era, but again we have a new head coach leading a team that has little in common with the previous year, and that is still reaching for the identity it desires. In the final weeks of this season, I would love nothing more than to see Jedd Fisch’s Huskies signal that it’s all gotten dialed in, with the Dawgs winning some upsets. To be sure, there have been upward trends lately, but there are still crucial things that need fixing: inopportune penalties.. bad kick coverage.. scoring more points.. The Huskies are facing a top-10 Penn State team, in their house, who just suffered a frustrating loss, on fan-gimmick night (don’t get me wrong, I love fan gimmicks). I think the Dawgs will compete, but I also felt good about the Iowa and Indiana games, and those became road blowouts for UW.

Penn St 27 – UW 20

Mark Schafer

It is now week 11, and the Huskies will be walking into a tough one. Not only is this a road game, across time zones, but it’s also a White Out, meaning that a crowd that was going to be tough now may be even more energized. We knew going in that this would be it, and we’ve been dreading it for months, but let me tell you what the Dawgs can do to pull it off!

The first and last thing for the Huskies to do in order to win this game is to minimize mistakes, which might be easier said than done especially since they’re literally walking into a lion’s den on Saturday, with a juiced up crowd in a White Out game. I would establish Jonah Coleman early and often and get him between 20-25 touches to start. Will Rogers can play off of him in the short passing game and set up opportunities deep. Defensively, they need to key in on the option game that Penn State likes to use and be disciplined against misdirection, using Belichick’s proclivity to play man-to-man defense to shut down Penn State’s receivers. Other than that, this is a tough task, and I think, coming off a win last week, they can do just enough to eke out a win, but they have to be perfect.

UW 24 – Penn St 21

Andrew Berg

Earlier in the season, we spent a lot of time thinking about what UW could do if they could get over certain humps. The team could compete with anybody if they could just… cut down on the penalties, perform better in the red zone, get the ball to Jonah Coleman more often, win up front more often on both sides of the ball, kick and punt better.

Nine games into the season, we might see some minor changes, but for the most part, we know who the Huskies are at this point. They’re going to struggle to block long enough to effectively push the ball downfield. They will put up some yards, but are unlikely to crack 30 points consistently against good defenses. The defense has probably played above its talent level all year, but remains susceptible to power running attacks.

This combination is not a great recipe against Penn St. The Nittany Lions feature a devastating running combination of Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton. While I’m not the biggest believer in Drew Allar, his numbers this year have been surprisingly good, especially when throwing to outstanding TE Tyler Warren. Penn St probably won’t explode for 40 points against the Dawg defense, but I expect them to bully their way to some long drives.

I’m more concerned with how the Huskies will find enough space offensively against a very good defense to keep up through four quarters. The offensive line is suboptimal at its best and banged up beyond that. Quick hitting passes will be the key to moving the ball, especially if Will Rogers can get the ball to the likes of Giles Jackson and Denzel Boston in motion to add some yards after the catch. I think the Huskies have a reasonable chance to keep the game within the spread, but with Penn St’s pace and defense, that doesn’t necessarily mean the game will be “close.”

Penn St 24 – UW 14

SU: UW 1, Penn St 3

ATS: UW 3, Penn St 1

Average Score: Penn St 25 – UW 18

Two American truck drivers will embark on a cross-country journey in honor of a special Yuletide delivery.

Alaska natives John Schank and Fred Austin will bring holiday cheer to Washington, D.C., by transporting the annual Christmas Tree to the U.S. Capitol.

This year’s tree was selected from Alaska’s National Forests, traveling 4,000 miles from Tongass National Forest near Wrangell, making 11 stops along the way, so Americans can get a chance to see the People’s Tree.

WHITE HOUSE SELECTS NORTH CAROLINA FAMILY’S CHRISTMAS TREE FARM TO PROVIDE 2024 TREE

The tree will be carried by Lynden Transport in an 80-foot flatbed truck covered with protective wrapping and a plexiglass window at the rear.

The drive could take roughly three weeks to complete.

“My favorite part of this trip is the show-and-tell time, not the driving time,” Austin told Fox News Digital.

Austin of North Pole, Alaska, has been driving with Lynden Transport for 50 years and says it’s “pretty cool” to be transporting the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree.

Schank said this will be his second time transporting the tree.

“I moved it back in 2015. I came out to Chugiak National Forest near Seward, Alaska, and I’m looking forward to doing it here,” he told Fox News Digital.

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Between the men, they’ve safely driven for a combined estimate of 100 years stretching around 10 million miles.

Schank has also been driving big rigs for 50 years and said the route that he and Austin are taking is all mapped out.

The Capitol Christmas Tree will be carried by Lynden Transport, an Anchorage, Alaska-based trucking company. The tree will travel on an 80-foot flatbed truck covered with protective wrapping and a plexiglass window at the rear. (U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree)

“The trailer is 80 feet long and the tree just barely fits inside of it … We will take care of the precious cargo we’ve got, and we will drive accordingly,” said Schank.

Banners adorn the 74-foot tree, giving Americans a chance to leave their name and a message with a marker at selected stops. 

“You can actually look in and see the tree … and when we’re stopped, they turn the Christmas tree lights on,” said Austin.

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“John and Fred are a dynamic duo of driving experience, leadership, and positive energy, which will make the cross-country trip memorable,” Paul Grimaldi, president of Lynden Transport, said in a statement.

This year’s tree was selected from Alaska’s national forests, traveling 4,000 miles from Tongass National Forest near Wrangell. (U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree)

The 54-year tradition of the Capitol Christmas Tree began when Speaker of the House John McCormack, D-Mass., placed a live Christmas tree on the Capitol lawn, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“This tree lived three years before succumbing to wind and root damage. In 1970, the Capitol Architect asked the U.S. Forest Service to provide a Christmas tree,” a news release said.

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Each year a different national forest is selected to provide “the People’s Tree” in an annual campaign to celebrate national forests.

The Capitol Christmas Tree will make 11 stops on the way to Washington, D.C. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The tree will be making stops in Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, Indiana, Ohio and Maryland before arrival at the Capitol’s West Lawn.

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Americans can track the People’s Tree at kenworth.com/tree-tracker/.