Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley
Trace McSorley and No. 10 Penn State have high aspirations this season. Starting with a hypothetical Big Ten championship to bring back to Happy Valley, and maybe a College Football Playoff berth that has alluded the program since head coach James Franklin arrived in 2014.
First things first, Appalachian State.
The game is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network. If you don’t have cable or can’t get to a TV, you can still watch a live stream of the game (or DVR it) on your computer, phone or streaming device by signing up for one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
The Big Ten Network and the Big Ten Network “Extra Football Game channels” (the latter will televise extra games when there are overlapping ones on BTN at the same time) are included in FuboTV’s main package, which includes 85 total channels and is largely tailored towards sports fans. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of Cloud DVR (with the ability to upgrade to 500 hours), as well as a handy “72-Hour Lookback” feature, which will allow you to watch the game on-demand up to three days after it airs even if you forgot to record it.
In addition to their extensive Netflix-like streaming library, Hulu now also offers a bundle of 50-plus live TV channels, including the Big Ten Network. You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, “Hulu with Live TV” also comes with 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
BTN2Go
Additionally, you can watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Big Ten website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the BTN2Go app. You’ll need to log in to a cable provider to watch this way, but if you don’t have that, you can still sign up for one of the above options and then use your FuboTV or Hulu credentials to sign in and watch on the BTN digital platforms.
Preview
Penn State has been in the national title mix in each of the last two seasons, and is looking for its third straight 11-win season for the first time since 1980-82.
In his now fifth season at Penn State Franklin has compiled a 36-17 record overall, including a conference championship in 2016. Despite Franklin’s success turning around a program so quickly that was in turmoil following the Joe Paterno scandal, the pressure is starting to amount a little to get the Nittany Lions to the next level.
So, as Franklin put it in early in August during the school’s designated media day:
“I think we all know, we’ve got a lot of question marks this year, probably more than we’ve had the past two years, and I think we have a very, very challenging schedule. But I’m excited.”
That excitement trickles on down, right back to the starting quarterback.
McSorley is entering his third year leading the Nittany Lions’ offense. In each of his first two seasons, the senior has thrown for over 3,600 yards and at least 28 touchdowns. In 2016, McSorley completed 57.9% of his passes, and vastly improved his accuracy in 2017 to 66.5%, despite throwing two more (10) interceptions than ’16.
Stud running back Saquon Barkley left and was selected No. 2 overall in the 2018 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. Former offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead left to become the head coach of Mississippi State. Moorhead left behind an offense that still has talent, and it is up to new offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne to get the most out of the unit.
Mountaineers quarterback Zac Thomas has a tall task. The redshirt sophomore starts his first collegiate game on the road at Beaver Stadium.