A disappointing defensive performance was the downfall for the Nittany Lions on Saturday evening at Beaver Stadium as they lost to Central Florida 34-31 in a heartbreaker. The offense produced all game long, but the defense struggled against a strong UCF offense led by quarterback Blake Bortles and running back Storm Johnson. Instead of staying undefeated, Penn State lost a winnable game to go to 2-1.
In a heartbreaker under the lights at Beaver Stadium, the Penn State Nittany Lions fell just short against the Central Florida Knights on Saturday, losing by a score of 34-31. The Knights had the upper hand throughout the entire game as Penn State never led, looking unstoppable at times on offense against what looked to be a strong Penn State defense in the first two weeks.
Good morning from Beaver Stadium where the Penn State Nittany Lions (2-0) are set to face the Central Florida Knights (2-0) in the first night game of the season. Penn State enters the game undefeated after edging Syracuse in the opener at MetLife Stadium and dominating Eastern Michigan in the home opener last Saturday. UCF has defeated Akron and FIU convincingly coming into Week 3 against Penn State. UCF is led by head coach George O'Leary, a former mentor of Bill O'Brien from their time together at Georgia Tech. Bill O'Brien will face Central Florida for the first time as a head coach and will look to add on to the Nittany Lions' perfect record (2-0) against the Knights from the Paterno era.
We’re just one day away from the first night game of the season. The football team is 2-0 after a dominant win in the home opener against Eastern Michigan last Saturday. The Nittany Lions face off against the UCF Knights tomorrow night and will try and keep that perfect record alive. Kickoff is at 6:00 p.m. Let’s take a look at what our writers think about the game.
The Nittany Lions have played the Central Florida Knights twice in the past. The first game was back in 2002 when Penn State barely edged UCF for a 27-24 win. Their next matchup came in 2004 when Penn State posted 524 yards of offense while holding UCF to just 181 yards in route to a 37-13 victory. When kickoff comes tomorrow evening at Beaver Stadium, expect a close matchup similar to the game from '02. Here's everything you need to know heading into tomorrow's evening game.
Penn State is widely known for its whiteout games and the intense atmosphere that each brings. Traditionally, Penn State has one "official" full-stadium whiteout per season, with a few student-declared whiteouts sprinkled in. When the UCF game was declared a whiteout earlier this week, some students complained on social media that having a student whiteout this early in the season for a non-conference opponent makes the exercise less special.