College Football
Season Preview: Penn State Football
We are about eight Saturdays away from the start of another college football season. Penn State has shown an abundance of success in the past two years’ both on the field and on the recruiting track. Coming off of a Fiesta Bowl victory against the Washington Huskies, the Nittany Lions hope to build on it this upcoming season while also adding the nations fifth-ranked recruiting class. Here is a Penn State football season preview.
The Preview
Some fans say Penn State is a young team this year and in ways that’s true. However, this Penn State team, while losing some valuable talent to the NFL Draft and graduation, has done well in both recruiting and having others step up.
This year, Penn State Football fans are will witness prized recruits from various class step up in different areas. The linebacker, secondary and running back most notably. With Penn State Football lose stars like Grant Haley, Marcus Allen, Barkley and Gesicki among others, Franklin and staff need to turn to the next man on the depth chart or a recruit.
New Faces
First, Penn State will for sure see a new face in the secondary. With Haley signing as a undrafted free agent with the Giants and Marcus Allen drafted by the Steelers, Clairton stand out Lamont Wade has his eyes set on the position for Penn State along with prized recruit Isaiah Humphries. Furthermore, Johnathan Sutherland may also see time in the safety position but the first two seem to be front runners.
Next, another important position on the defense that fans are going to be talking about is the linebacker position. Koa Farmer will be the guy Franklin will lean on at the Sam position. On the other hand, Jason Cabinda and Brandon Smith graduated. With the middle and Will spots with no front runner, Senior Jake Cooper and Junior Cam Brown have a chance as well as prized recruit Micah Parsons and Jesse Luketa.
Offense
Additionally, on offense, Penn State will look different at the wide receiver position. With DaeSean Hamilton now in the NFL, the tables turn to some young up and coming talent. Brandon Polk will seize a bigger rule with the team along with Juwan Johnson and and DeAndre Thompkins. However, don’t be surprised if Franklin unleashes red shirt K.J. Hamler and Mac Hippenhammer. Besides that, Franklin also has receiver Justin Shorter who may see the field.
Lastly, with running backs, Penn State has talent stacked at this position. It features Miles Sanders, who is sure to get the bulk of the time along with five-star recruit in Journey Brown, who is a red shirt freshman, along with incoming No, 3 all-purpose back Ricky Slade.
Non-Conference
This year’s Penn State Football non-conference has a mix to it as the Nittany Lions and Appalachian State class in week one followed by a In-State class with rival Pitt in week two. Albeit their last non-conference is against Kent State, the week two match-up simply cannot be ignored. Realistically, not even from the “rivarly” rather the last time Penn State lost to Pitt. It cost the Nittany Lions a spot in the College Football Playoff.
This year, the Pitt and Penn State game will air in prime time on ABC. In most ways, this is a big game because the outcome will determine the season. However, it will give the Nittany Lions a test early on something they actually need. This is without question the biggest non-conference game on the schedule. On the other hand, this is as quality an opponent the Nittany Lions will see before Ohio State. However, don’t take for granted the Big Ten opener on the road against Illinois and that’s a Friday night game something Penn State fans aren’t use to.
Prediction
The schedule Penn State Football has is actually far from easy, it’s hard. Just by looking at the schedule there are some games that will be a trap game such as Pitt or Indiana. Penn State needs to go in with a tougher mind set in those games because they can’t lose either of them. Penn State Football has talent spread throughout its roster. The one thing the Nittany Lions need to take advantage of is the big home games (Ohio State, Wisconsin, Iowa and Michigan State).
Besides Pitt and Indiana on the road, Penn State has to travel to Ann Arbor this year to face the Wolverines. Futhermore, you have to figure that since most of the big games (besides two) are at home, that the marbles may fall to a better conclusion. There is no question that the Nittany Lions will be battle tested this year. On the other hand, the true question is with the mixture of the right pieces can Penn State Football pull a College Football Playoff berth off? I go out on a limb and say if they lose they lose twice. However, with this talent and the schedule set up the way it is, this team could be one team to take very seriously. Especially with the abundance of success they’ve had in recent memory caped off by a Fiesta Bowl victory for Penn State Football.
