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FACTS & STATS: Site: Ryan Field (47,130) -- Evanston, Illinois. Television: Big Ten Network. Home Record: Penn State 4-1, Northwestern 1-1. Away Record: Penn State 2-0, Northwestern 1-3. Neutral Record: Penn State 0-0, Northwestern 0-0. Conference Record: Penn State 3-0, Northwestern 0-3. Series Record: Penn State leads, 11-3.

GAME NOTES: The surging Penn State Nittany Lions head to Evanston, Illinois to take on the Northwestern Wildcats in a Big Ten Conference showdown.

Since losing to second-ranked Alabama during the second week of the season, the Nittany Lions have reeled off five straight wins to move to 6-1 and sit atop the conference's Leaders Division (3-0 Big Ten). Granted, many of those victories have not been pretty -- outside of a 34-6 win over Eastern Michigan on September 24, the average margin of victory has been just six points. The Nittany Lions are coming off a 23-18 win over Purdue and need to keep racking up wins as they enter a final stretch that will see them face Nebraska, Ohio State and Wisconsin to close the regular season.

Meanwhile, Northwestern enters the weekend trying to avoid a fifth straight loss. This is only the third home game of the year for the Wildcats, who have dropped three of their four road contests so far. Last Saturday, they were dealt a 41-31 setback at Iowa to fall to 0-3 in conference play.

Penn State has won 11 of the 14 all-time meetings with NU. The Wildcats' last victory in the series came back in 2004.

Penn State has been able to manufacture five straight wins despite an offense that ranks ninth in the conference in total yards (373.1 ypg) and 10th in scoring (21.7 ppg). The team has continued to get by despite lukewarm quarterback play from Rob Bolden and Matt McGloin, who have alternated series throughout the year. However, each passer led a touchdown drive against Purdue, with McGloin finishing with 145 yards and an interception on 8-of-17 passing, and Bolden connecting on 2-of-6 attempts for 40 yards. Statistically speaking, McGloin has been the more efficient passer between the two, although he is averaging just 129 yards per game with only five touchdowns and two interceptions. Neither player is helped by the absence of Derek Moye, who has a broken bone in his left foot and is expected to miss at least two weeks. Running back Silas Redd stepped up his play once again last week, notching his fourth 100-yard rushing game and fifth rushing TD of the season. Redd finished with 131 tough yards on 28 carries. Expect Penn State to continue to lean on Redd and the ground game this week, and likely for the foreseeable future.

The Nittany Lion defense registered a season-high three interceptions in the win over Purdue. However, the offense was only able to manage three points from those interceptions. Regardless, it is safe to say that the team has its defense to thank for the 6-1 record. PSU ranks sixth nationally in both scoring defense (11.6 ppg) and total defense (264.1 ypg), and the unit ranks an impressive third in pass efficiency defense (89.62). That said, the Boilermakers were able to move the ball as they finished with 344 total yards, including 162 yards and a touchdown on the ground. On the season, the Nittany Lions have held opponents to an average of 103 rushing yards per tilt. However, the Boilermakers had to settle for field goals on two of their four trips to the red zone, and midway through the fourth quarter they were stuffed on a potential game-tying two-point attempt. Gerald Hodges led the charge with a team high eight tackles (all solo) for Penn State, including three behind the line of scrimmage. Nate Stupar collected two of the team's three picks on the day.

Northwestern has averaged a healthy 30 points over its last three contests. Unfortunately, the defense has allowed an average of 40 points over that same span, as the Wildcats have fallen to 2-4 after a 2-0 start. Last week, they fell behind 17-0 in the first half, then rallied to tie the score at 17-17 in the third quarter, only to watch Iowa put up 24 points in the final frame. The Cats held a 29-17 edge in first downs and out-gained Iowa, 495-379, but turnovers and missed opportunities proved costly. Dan Persa completed 30-of-39 passes for 242 yards and a touchdown, but in the first quarter he threw an interception that was returned 98 yards for a touchdown. In the fourth quarter, Jeff Budzien missed a 47-yard field goal attempt, the same distance he was successful from earlier in the game. On NU's very next drive, Persa lost a fumble deep in his own territory. Iowa scored 10 points off those crucial miscues, which also happened to be the final margin of victory. The loss erased a Herculean effort by wideout Jeremy Ebert, who hauled in 13 passes for 107 yards and a touchdown. He has caught 39 balls with six TDs on the year, more than twice the amount of any other player on the roster.

The Northwestern defense allowed 224 yards and two touchdowns through the air last week, while the run defense was gashed for another 155 yards (5.5 ypc) and two scores. Iowa's Marcus Coker inflicted most of the damage with 124 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. As mentioned, NU's offense didn't do the defense any favors by giving Iowa the ball with strong field position twice in the fourth quarter, with the game still in the balance. The Wildcats have struggled to keep opponents in check lately as they are allowing 30 points and 429 yards per game this season, which ranks 10th and 11th, respectively, in the Big Ten. However, they won the time of possession battle handily against Iowa by holding the Hawkeyes to 1-of-7 on third downs. Conversely, NU was 16-of-22 on third down and held a 17-minute edge in possession time. Brian Peters notched a team-high 10 tackles in the loss, as he is tied for second on the squad with 45 tackles to go along with a team- high two interceptions and four passes defended. One area that has plagued the team throughout the year is getting to the quarterback, as the Wildcats have managed only 10 sacks through six games.

While these teams have been heading in opposite directions, Penn State must be careful not to look ahead and suffer a letdown on the road. The Nittany Lions can take the crowd out of the game by establishing the run behind Redd in the early going, which would also take some pressure off of both McGloin and Bolden.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Penn State 27, Northwestern 20