BSD Prediction Roundtable: Buffalo

Well, we're all 0-1. Last week was a flaming tire fire covered in cyanide, both game-wise and prediction-wise as well. We really, really, really need this to not happen again, folks. Luckily, we're playing a SUNY school this week. This team and fanbase need a bounceback game, and if you were ever going to get it in our schedule, this is the one. No offense to Buffalo, but all the #MACtion in the world should still result in us winning this game on talent alone. Then again, a John Donovan offense can do fantastically horrid things to said talent. Does anybody actually know what's gonna happen tomorrow?

As a New Yorker with friends who attended Buffalo, if we lose this game somehow I'm never going to go out in public again. So hey, let's hope JFF has taken over all of the playcalling duties and John Donovan's headset is secretly off. Let's see if Gary Wooten has the chops to start at middle linebacker after being an important backup most of his career. Let's scream for Wendy Laurent to get some time on the line if it struggles. Most importantly, let's try not to cry. It's the BSD Prediction Roundtable, and we're all very, very sad and mostly unconfident (well, except for the computer).

bscaff: Penn State spends more than $70 million annually on football. Temple Buffalo spends about $7 million annually on football. That really ought to be the only analysis you need for this game. The $63+ million spending advantage will put 1 point more on the scoreboard than the Owls Bulls this week. Why am I so confident in that $63million, 1-point advantage? Strategy. Think about this: other than the jet sweep / dive, does Buffalo's defensive coordinator have ANY idea what we might run on Saturday? NOPE! Because that's the only offensive play we put on film last week. Buffalo can't afford to pay for that kind of advanced strategy. Very shrewdly played, John Donovan. While the entire sports world doubted you last week, it was their own myopic view that prevented them from seeing your grand scheme. And now, IT TOTALLY PAYS OFF!

Penn State 5 - Buffalo 4

Matt: I honestly have no idea what is going to happen this week. Penn State, by all accounts, has a lot of very good football players, while Buffalo does not see to have that many themselves. But that appeared to be the case last week, and the Lions got punched in the nose, and reacted by retreating to the safety of the telegraphed jet sweep. Temple had enough talent to make them pay for such an unforgivable error. Buffalo does not. There will be some rough patches, and probably some boos from the Beaver Stadium crowd, but talent wins out in the end in a sleepy noon kickoff.

tl;dr: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ . PSU should win though.

Penn State 27 - Buffalo 6

Dan: I'm mostly curious to see if Franklin has boxed himself in with this "Christian Hackenberg has to be in to the end to send a message about always competing" and won't play any backups in a three score game against Buffalo. Other than that, I'm just curious to see how the team bounces back. We need to see something.

Penn State 34 - Buffalo 10

Tim: After reading more about Buffalo's fifth year senior QB and their quick-passing game, I picture the talented but young and inexperienced line backing unit getting torched...Still can't bring myself to pick a loss to da Bulls, though. While PSU's youth/depth/playcalling issues will continue to rear their ugly heads this week, Buffalo is just not talented enough to make them pay with a loss. They could make them pay though by making it an uncomfortable afternoon, being merely a big play away from making things interesting.

Penn State 23 - Buffalo 21

Devon: Basically the same as last week, except the offense scores a short-field touchdown in the second half and the defense figures out how to play without Nyeem Wartman. The John-Donovan-hot-seat-o-meter remains stuck on "fire this asshole yesterday."

Penn State 17 - Buffalo 13

Chad: do I have to watch

Penn State 13 - Buffalo 7

Nick P: Penn State is favored by 21 points in this game. Penn State will not win by 21 points. If I wasn't superstitious with betting on Penn State, this would be an easy one. Hackenberg will probably throw for 250 yards and (hopefully) at least one touchdown. I'm mostly just looking forward to seeing the young guys get time, namely De'Andre Thompkins, Brandon Polk, Juwan Johnson, Saquon Barkley, Jake Cooper and Manny Bowen. Throw all the kids in there, see what they can do. You know you want to, James.

Penn State 27 - Buffalo 10

NCAA Football 16:

Overall Rating: Penn State 87, Buffalo 74
Offense: Penn State 86, Buffalo 76
Defense: Penn State 87, Buffalo 72

The downgrades came in hard this week, as I reduced Penn State's offensive linemen's overall by an average of 5 points each. They were overrated to begin with, but that's a ton. However, it was fair in the grand scheme of things. The loss of Nyeem Wartman-White dropped the defense a full point, but it's still the heart and soul of the team regardless of what the ratings say. Buffalo's quick-passing scheme and 5th-year senior QB seemed a danger to Penn State, even with a lowly-ranked offense. I mean, the game probably predicted Temple's outcome closer than anyone.

Cruelly, this time it also predicted the final score to be the exact one I predicted for almost every game last year after Rutgers. On the first drive, Christian Hackenberg was sacked twice and then threw a pick on third down, which seemed like it was going to doom the team. However, Buffalo's first passing play resulted in a counter, as Jason Cabinda picked off a slant and ran it all the way back for a touchdown. That 7-0 would never be relinquished, as the defense remained stout all day. While Buffalo would put up a total of 330 passing yards, they just couldn't seem to find the end zone. Five sacks split between Carl Nassib, Anthony Zettel, and Cabinda, plus a Jordan Lucas interception, made it a fine day for Bob Shoop's boys. On offense, even with a line severely reduced in its abilities, talent elsewhere won out. Hack threw for 283 yards and 4 TDs, and Akeel Lynch added 119 on the ground, as Penn State put this one away early. If we get this tomorrow, I think we'd all be ecstatic.

Penn State 49 - Buffalo 6

FROM THE PODCAST:

Bill: Penn State 49 - Buffalo 7
Cari: Penn State 21 - Buffalo 14
Adam: Penn State 34 - Buffalo 10

FROM THE PREVIEW:

Jared: Penn State 27 - Buffalo 17