The Penn State Nittany Lions football team faces off against Kent State at 3:30 this afternoon for the team’s final non-conference game of the 2024 regular season. While that chapter of the season is ending, a new one begins. The team must now find a new way forward on defense with the loss of star safety KJ Winston. Today on the Penn State Football Tailgate Show, we discuss the process for how the team will adapt on defense and what we’re looking for in the game to see what the plan for replacing the future NFL defensive back looks like.

The Penn State Football Tailgate Show airs at 12:30 on YouTube and is broadcast locally on 99.5 The Bus and 107.5 Bigfoot Legends. It is produced in conjunction with 7 Mountains Media. Catch the streaming version on the Blue White Illustrated YouTube Channel.

Penn State vs. Kent State Tailgate Show

We start today’s show by discussing the major news that dropped from the Nittany Lions this week. Penn State head coach James Franklin relayed the message to the media on Wednesday that Winston suffered a long-term injury and will be out indefinitely. We start by asking Tailgate Show co-host, former Penn State offensive lineman Landon Tengwall, what it’s like to get injury news of a star player for the broader team. We’ll discuss the implications of his absence and then discuss how important this week’s game against Kent State is to get a barometer for how the team will replace him.

Next, we’ll get into the nuts and bolts of how Winston’s absence affects the depth chart and how they’ll replace him in the lineup. Which players need to step up? Who will play more snaps? We’ll dive into the details.

Offense to click on all cylinders?

Next, we’ll discuss other important topics that Penn State fans have been discussing since the team’s closer-than-expected win over Bowling Green two weeks ago. Is the offense ready to click on all cylinders after the bye week? So, who was back at practice, and will the team finally get a third receiver involved? We’ll break down what we expect from that unit, plus details of the young players we hope to see during the game this afternoon.

Finally, we’ll give our score predictions and discuss what specific things we want to see from the Penn State offense and defense in the win. Join us at 12:30 on the Penn State Football Tailgate Show!

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