What I liked & didn't like from Northwestern football routing Penn State at New Ryan Field

It was a demolition.

Northwestern football began a new era, opening Ryan Field with a rout of visiting Penn State. That was putting it lightly.

The Wildcats ran roughshod over Penn State in the 34-13 win. The Nittany Lions led the all-time series 16-6. The ‘Cats’ seventh win in the series felt like they

Here's what we liked and didn't like about Northwestern's punishment of Penn State, which christened New Ryan Field.

What we liked

Establishing The Run:

Northwestern running back Joseph Himon II had rushes of 2, 11, 36, 38 and 47 yards in the first half. The rushes for 11 and 38 went for touchdowns.

Putting it simply, Northwestern’s 11-yard touchdown run brought down Himon’s yards per carry average.

It was that kind of day for the Wildcats running attack. They punished Penn State in a way college football faithfuls never thought Northwestern would be able to punish Penn State before.

Northwestern gained over 300 rushing yards before the fourth quarter started. Caleb Komolafe and Himon were punishing Penn State in the trenches. The Nittany Lion defensive line could not bring them down when they could touch them.

The NU offensive line was flat lining Penn State. Northwestern offensive coordinator Chip Kelly was doing whatever he wanted to the tune of nearly nine yards per carry in the run game for nearly the entire game.

That beat up Penn State. Both Komolafe and Himon had well over 100 yards rushing on a day they destroyed the Nittany Lions.

The Defensive Line:

Northwestern’s defensive trenches, somehow, were only credited for one sack Friday night.

This is because the NU defensive line was punishing the Penn State offensive line. The PSU program re-known for its ability to run the football, which produced two NFL draftees last season in Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen to go along with legends Saquon Barkley, Franco Harris and Larry Johnson.

Northwestern just erased the running game on Friday. It did not factor into the game.

The NU defensive line had consistent penetration, which affected the passing game, too.

The position that had plenty of question marks made a statement on Friday night. They're a unit that's greater than the sum of their parts, but their parts are still pretty darn good.

The New Digs:

If you had any wonders about Northwestern’s New Ryan Field, re-think those ideas. It’s as perfect as advertised, perhaps even better.

The best stadium could buy worth $850 million looked the part. It was state of the art. I provided a prefect place for the NU students. It made the older Ryan Field feel like a true part of the past.

It was a stadium you could envision Northwestern playing high-level games in.

Now, the program has to reach a level where these high-profile games take on a new meaning of their own. Friday night gave you a reason to believe they could.

What I didn’t like

Injuries in the Trenches:

The ‘Cats’ offensive line is already missing players.

Jackson Carsello missed a game after a scary neck injury and Ezomo Oratokhai is out for the year after getting injured against Colorado.

Dennis Rahouski was shaken up after a first down run by Komolafe and didn’t return to the game. Redshirt sophomore Patrick Schaller came in at left tackle and held his own.

Still, NU can't afford many more blows to their offensive line.

Silly Mistakes:

Penn State did its best to draw pass interference flags, taking advantage of Northwestern’s physical secondary when they were a little too physical.

But, there were mistakes NU made that hurt all by itself. 

Marquet Dorsey Jr. was flagged for an unnecessary roughness foul after a play ended that brought Northwestern back to behind the Penn State 30-yard line when a punt return took NU inside the Nittany Lions’ 20.

Aidan Chiles and Gavin Sawchuck couldn’t connect on a handoff that resulted in a fumble, which turned into a Penn State touchdown.

That was one of the few mistakes they made, though.

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