With the 2019 college footballs season complete, we look back on how the Big Ten did in bowl games.
As we go through all the bowls, in no particular order, we will focus on two main things:
1. How did the bowl performance end the 2019 season? Was it a fitting end or a poor performance, etc.
2. What impact, if any, will it have on the 2020 season.
Now that we’ve gone through all four Big Ten losses (not including the CFP), let’s move on to the wins.
2019 Cotton Bowl Classic: Penn State vs Memphis
The matchup
In what is unfortunately becoming an all-too-common occurrence, a lot of luster was lost from this Power 5 vs Group of 5 matchup before the game even happened. Memphis head coach Mike Norvell was hired by Florida State. How would Memphis complete its season without its head coach? And, more importantly, just how good was Penn State anyway? The Nittany Lions barely beat Pitt, Iowa, and Michigan and lost to Minnesota, but they did impress in the loss to Ohio State. What would this game have in store–featuring a potentially vulnerable good P5 team against a definitely vulnerable really good Group of 5 team?
What went right
Penn State was nearly unstoppable. The offense scored four touchdowns in the second quarter alone. The Nittany Lions obviously didn’t score on every drive, but they put up over 500 yards of offense and moved the ball at will for most of the game. The vast majority of the offense came on the ground, with Journey Brown running for over 200 yards and two touchdowns, while Noah Cain added 92 yards and two touchdowns, as well.
What went wrong
If the Penn State running game was unstoppable, then so was the Memphis passing game. Penn State’s secondary was a sieve, giving up 479 yards through the air. The one important, game-winning stat, though, is that Memphis did not throw for a single touchdown. The Tigers ran for three touchdowns, and Penn State held them to field goals on a whopping six drives. That was the real difference in the game (that and a pick-six late in the third quarter)–Penn State capped its drives with touchdowns, while Memphis could only manage field goals far too often.
Next… 2019 wrap-up and 2020 impact
2019 wrap-up
It’s hard to really know what this does for the 2019 Penn State season, because it’s hard to judge the season. The Nittany Lions did move up into the Top 10 after the bowl win, and Top 10 finishes are always important. But what is Penn State looking for as a program right now? Based on fan expectations and what we hear from coaches, the Nittany Lions are aiming to be among the elite. They want a Top 10 season to be a disappointment, not a positive. They expect to be in contention for, and sometimes reach, the CFP every year.
Is that fair for Penn State? Honestly? Maybe. The program certainly doesn’t have a recent championship pedigree, but it has shown over the last few seasons to be right there in the thick of things throughout the season. Is the program perhaps jumping the gun a little, and not being satisfied with the middle step necessary to moving from “strong program” to “elite contender”? Again, maybe, but jumping that stage seems to be working for Georgia, so why shouldn’t Penn State expect the same of itself? Opposing fans might scorn, but it definitely seems like a valid outlook to build a program around.
2020 Impact
So what is Penn State looking at next year? Obviously, a big bowl win provides belief and momentum within the program, and always helps with recruiting. The Nittany Lions are also a near-consensus Top 10 team in assorted “Way Too Early Top 25” rankings.
Penn State returns almost all of its talent on offense, with the notable exception of star receiver K.J. Hamler, who is a likely first-round draft pick. The defense will require a bit of rebuilding, but the pieces are definitely there to do it, and the Nittany Lions will have plenty of experience.
Perhaps most importantly for Penn State, though, is that the 2020 schedule looks very manageable. The strongest cross-divisional opponent is Iowa (at home), and the worst nonconference game is a road trip against Virginia Tech. The schedule is the perfect mix of looking tough but really being winnable. Of course, if Penn State wants 2020 to be its championship season, it has to get through Michigan (on the road) and Ohio State (at home).
With the benefit of the doubt of a Top 10 season and a lot of returning talent, 2020 definitely looks like Penn State’s best chance to make a national statement.
