It’s White Out week.

No. 10 Penn State will welcome No. 22 Auburn into one of college football’s best atmospheres at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 18. After a 2-0 start and a week one road win over Wisconsin, the Nittany Lions face a huge test against their first regular-season SEC opponent since 2011.

The hype surrounding the early-season White Out is only growing, so let’s take a look at this weekend’s opponent for Penn State.

The Team

Auburn welcomed a fresh coaching staff to open its 2021 season. The Tigers parted ways with long-time head coach Gus Malzahn after a 6-5 2020 campaign, and this past offseason welcomed former Boise State leader Bryan Harsin to run the program.

Harsin, a Boise native, spent seven seasons with the Broncos in which he led them to a 69-19 record overall, including 12-win seasons in 2014 and 2019. He now brings a new staff with him to Auburn which includes offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, whose last stop was South Carolina, and defensive coordinator Derek Mason, who was the head coach at Vanderbilt for seven seasons.

James Franklin has never worked alongside the Tigers’ defensive play-caller, but he was hired as the next head coach in Nashville directly following Franklin’s departure for Happy Valley.

Auburn and the new coaching staff have opened the 2021 season 2-0, albeit against Akron and Alabama State. However, the Tigers handled the manageable start to the season exactly how they were supposed to, with a 60-10 win over Akron and a 62-0 mark over Alabama State.

Franklin has noted throughout this week that, in preparing for the Tigers, the Nittany Lions have also paid attention to tape from each of the coach’s last stops. Two victories over low-tier opponents won’t necessarily tell Penn State a whole lot regarding game preparation.

“You just don’t have a whole lot to work with. When you get into a game and it’s a blowout early on, those late-game reps are not as important in your breakdown because I don’t know if they are as realistic as information as you would get under a different scenario,” Franklin said. “And, again, with a new head coach and new coordinators, are we watching Boise State film, Vanderbilt film, Georgia film, Colorado State film, South Carolina film? What do you watch to get enough examples of formations of situational football and scenarios that you won’t get covered?”

Offense

After putting up at least 60 points in its first two games, Auburn’s offensive unit is certainly an interesting case for the Nittany Lions. The Tigers haven’t had much of a defensive test yet, however, and quarterback Bo Nix has had well-documented struggles on the road.

Nix, now in his third season starting under center for the Tigers, already has five touchdowns and 383 yards through the air this season. Over the course of his first two campaigns for Auburn, he totaled 4,957 passing yards and 28 touchdowns.

The stats are solid, but Nix’s road-game woes should be of advantage to the Nittany Lions, especially considering the White Out may be the most difficult atmosphere he faces as a college quarterback. A quick look at Nix’s 2020 splits tells the story. He threw seven total interceptions in 2020, six of which came on the road, while he threw just three of his 11 total touchdown passes in away games.

A White Out atmosphere combined with a Penn State defense that has yet to allow a passing touchdown this season could be a tough order for Nix.

As for who will join Nix in the backfield, the Tigers have a tough combination of rushers in Jarquez Hunter and Tank Bigsby. The first of that pair leads Auburn with 257 rushing yards on the season, while Bigsby is close behind with 241. Bigsby comes in at 6’0″ and 208 pounds and has been lauded as a tough guy to tackle throughout his Tiger career. Shutting down the sophomore will likely be a point of emphasis for Brent Pry’s unit, as he totaled an impressive 834 rushing yards in his first season of college football last fall.

Auburn’s outside targets are Demetris Robertson and Shedrick Jackson. Robertson, a native of Savannah, Georgia, is a graduate transfer who played his first two years of college football at Cal and his past two for his home state Bulldogs, has totaled six catches worth 89 yards and two scores so far this season. Over the course of his career, he’s garnered an impressive 105 catches for 1,369 yards.

As for Jackson, the senior hasn’t made a massive impact over the course of his Tiger career so far, but he leads the team so far this season with seven catches for 90 yards.

Up front, Auburn boasts seniors at every position besides right guard. Austin Troxell and Brandon Council hold it down on the left side, both of whom have a ton of college football experience. Troxell has been a Tiger since 2017, while Council transferred to Auburn after three seasons at Akron.

Penn State’s front seven has been impressive through two games, so the run game and battles in the trenches are things Nittany Lion fans should be focused on all night.

Defense

Again, it can’t be forgotten who its opponents were, but the Tigers allowed just -3 rushing yards week one against Akron, and only 46 to Alabama State last weekend. Considering Noah Cain’s importance in his return so far, this will be a massive “prove it” game for Auburn’s defensive line.

Colby Wooden and Derick Hall are slated to start at the defensive ends for Mason’s unit. The latter of the pair has seven total tackles and a sack to his name this year, while Wooden has added a sack as well. TD Moultry isn’t scheduled to start, but he has two sacks for Auburn thus far However, the focus for the Nittany Lions on offense will likely be on Auburn’s stud linebackers.

Zakoby Mcclain, Chandler Wooten, and Owen Pappoe will see plenty of time at linebacker position Saturday night. The trio of veterans all has distinguished careers at Auburn, as Mcclain was the third in the SEC with 113 total tackles this season. In 2021, he’s already leading the Tigers with 17 total tackles through two games.

Pappoe is also a returning starter, as he totaled 93 tackles for the Tigers last season. He even started every game at linebacker as a true freshman in 2019, as he was the country’s top-rated outside linebacker coming out of high school. As for Wooten, he doesn’t have the same eye-popping stats, but he also brings plenty of experience to the linebacking core. He opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID concerns but added 27 tackles to the defense in 2019.

At cornerback, Penn State will see a lot of Roger McCreary and Nehemiah Pritchett. McCreary has ten total tackles this season and a pick-six and has starting experience that dates back to last season. He made 45 tackles and added three interceptions to his solid 2020 campaign, and those skills will be put to the test Saturday as he’ll deal with Jahan Dotson and Parker Washington.

As for Pritchett, he saw some starting time in 2020 but is being fully thrust into a starting role this fall. He added 25 tackles for the Tigers last year and even grabbed a 48-yard interception.

Smoke Monday leads the secondary as a whole. Aside from having an electric name, Monday burst onto the scene as a starting safety in 2020 by putting up 108 tackles, a sack, and two interceptions. The senior has three tackles so far in 2021, but Mike Yurcich will likely have Monday in mind while calling plays Saturday night.

Special Teams

Anders Carlson is now in his fourth season starting at placekicker for Auburn. The younger brother of fellow Auburn Tiger and current Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson, Anders has nailed 14-of-15 extra-point attempts this season and has been good on all three of his field-goal attempts.

At punter, Auburn will start Oscar Chapman. The Australian has attempted just three punts this season and is averaging just 36.7 yards per attempt.