Living in State College and working at the Unversity, I can tell you that the current talk and the feeling I get is that PSU is not taking ND quite as seriously as they probably should. They talk about SOS and also that UGA didn't have their starting QB. I don't agree with that sentiment of course, just saying what the current buzz is concerning this matchup.
At least the fanbase isn't. Most expect a PSU win and many are saying a convincing win. I hope our boys take PSU to the woodshed tbh. Maybe its because I live here, but this fanbase is super annoying and obnoxious.
Georgia fans were OVER-CONFIDENT as well. From the pundits on down.
When a team wins the way THIS ND TEAM HAS, there's a tendency to see it all as a FLUKE. Fact is, this ND team has won on FUNDAMENTALS, and IF IT'S TO BEAT PENN STATE, that's LIKELY what it will take.
Which means that, assuming that ND plays at its USUAL EFFICIENCY LEVEL, Penn State -- if THEY are to win -- will have to OUT-FUNDAMENTAL ND. Which they could do, though it's NOT LIKELY that they could do it by any GREAT MARGIN.
The parts we can't factor in, though, are CRITICAL penalties, turnovers and injuries.
While I see ND as the slightly OVERALL better team, EITHER TEAM COULD WIN.