While Auburn's had a couple of warmup games against lower-level opponents to start the season, Penn State's already had a big first test. And while it was close, Penn State handled business and took down Wisconsin.
Penn State's now up to No. 10 in the latest AP Poll and Bryan Harsin has his eyes on several Nittany Lions impact players.
Harsin and the staff got some early work in on Penn State during Sunday's cleanup practice and then again Monday morning.
"You can see they’re a very good team and they have a chance to be at home and we know we have to handle our business this week as far as just getting ourselves prepared and ready to have a great Tuesday practice," Harsin said.
On the Penn State offense, he's keying in on Jahan Dotson and Parker Washington as receivers they need to try and limit.
Dotson has 10 receptions for 167 yards and two touchdowns this season while Washington has 104 yards on 10 receptions.
Harsin also noted that running back Noah Cain broke records as a freshman and Auburn will have to focus on containing him.
"Offensively they can be explosive and those are things we have to focus on this week and things that we’ve seen in the last couple games that they’ve been able to do," Harsin said.
On the flip side, Harsin keyed in on the Penn State red zone defense. The unit is 12th in the nation when it comes to red zone defense. They're also 21st in scoring defense and 16th in turnovers forced.
Harsin specifically named safety Jaquan Brisker, linebacker Ellis Brooks and defensive end Arnold Ebiketie as some of the Nittany Lions he's looking out for on defense.
Brooks and Ebiketie each have a sack this season while Brisker has six total tackles and an interception on the season.
"They’re going to have some different packages for us on that side of the ball from what we’ve seen," Harsin said.
Auburn will take on Penn State in Happy Valley at 6:30 CT with the game available on ABC.
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