Sep 6, 2019 5 min read

When Buffalo coach Lance Leipold looks at Penn State’s roster, he sees a team that can attack in waves with few weaknesses.

At least none jumped out when he watched No. 15 Penn State (1-0) rout Idaho 79-7 last week.

“They just kept rolling in more guys with different numbers and continued having success,” Leipold said. “That’s probably one of the bigger differences from the last time we went there.”

Penn State coach James Franklin calls it his deepest roster. Nine players had a hand in at least one touchdown.

The Bulls, who won 10 games and played in the MAC championship a year ago, will offer a stiffer test today. But Franklin isn’t going to let up if he gets another chance to play deep into his roster.

“I know there’s a lot of different discussions about scoring and these types of games and things like that, but it’s my belief that you get the backups in the game and you allow them to play,” Franklin said. “I think they deserve that opportunity.”

Five Penn State running backs – Ricky Slade, Journey Brown, Noah Cain, Nick Eury and Devyn Ford – all scored touchdowns last week.

While Franklin likes to lean on at least two ballcarriers throughout a season, having five capable players is a luxury at this point.

“I don’t know if I’ve ever been a part of that before, five running backs, five separate running backs all scoring a touchdown,” Franklin said. “So at this point, I think it’s working extremely well, but obviously it’s very early in the season.”

Penn State’s ground-and-pound produced 331 rushing yards against Idaho.

The Bulls only needed to throw 10 passes in their 38-10 win against Robert Morris last week. Leipold envisions a heavier workload for quarterback Matt Meyers in Beaver Stadium.

Pitt vs. Ohio: Pitt will try to avoid its first 0-2 start since 2005 when Ohio visits Heinz Field.

Panthers coach Pat Narduzzi knows the Bobcats’ visit today may look like a trap. It comes after a physical 16-point loss to Virginia and before a trip to rival Penn State.

In case there’s a risk of under-estimating the Bobcats, Narduzzi showed his team the videotape.

“Ohio U. … is good enough to whoop your tail,” he said.

That’s what the Bobcats did to Pitt in 2005 when they pulled off a stunning 16-10 overtime victory in Frank Solich’s home debut as Ohio coach. All of the principles in that game are long gone save for one: Solich. That’s reason enough for the Panthers to worry.

Narduzzi is an admirer of Solich’s work, including his lengthy career at Nebraska as an assistant and head coach. The Cornhuskers fired Solich after going 9-3 in 2003. While Solich has moved on, Narduzzi has not.

“The guy never should have got let go there,” Narduzzi said. “Probably one of the biggest mistakes in Nebraska history is letting Frank Solich go.”

Not that the Bobcats are complaining.

Now in his 15th season, Solich has built Ohio into a consistent contender in the Mid-American Conference. The Bobcats were the unanimous preseason choice to win the MAC’s East Division. They looked the part during a 41-20 victory over FCS-level Rhode Island last weekend as Ohio senior quarterback Nathan Rourke threw for two touchdowns and added another on the ground.

WVU vs. Missouri: Missouri coach Barry Odom insisted all fall his team is good enough to play with just about anybody into the fourth quarter. Turned out lousy for the Tigers last weekend.

Despite a frantic late rally, Missouri fell 37-31 at Wyoming in one of the big upsets so far this season. The Tigers allowed 297 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, and not even a 423-yard passing performance by transfer quarterback Kelly Bryant could save them.

The Tigers get a chance to right a start that went completely wrong when West Virginia visits today. The Mountaineers are in a rebuild after coach Dana Holgorsen left for Houston, and they needed 10 points in the fourth quarter to squeak out a 20-13 win over James Madison in their opener.

And if the Tigers had trouble stopping the run, the Mountaineers had trouble getting it started.

Known for its prolific offenses under Holgorsen, West Virginia managed just 34 yards rushing on 24 attempts in Neal Brown’s first game as coach. The Mountaineers’ longest carry? Five yards.

“The run game was really poor,” said Brown, who’d been banking on the run game being one of the most experienced units on the team. “You can look at the stat sheet and say that. I think we lacked physicality across the board. It’s easy to blame the O-line or the running backs in the run game, but everybody has a piece in it. It just wasn’t very good.”