From what I am hearing on pretty much every national college radio show I listen to on XM Sirius (ESPNU & Fox Sports channels mostly), Penn State is being mentioned as one of the few teams expected to "bounce back" from last year. Many have stated they see them as a top 10 team, but don't think they could be ranked that high initially because of the 4-5 season.
In short, lots of people expecting PSU to be very, very good. The other team being mentioned as much as PSU is LSU.
PSU and LSU in the National Championship game would be awesome.
Auburn and Ohio st will be our toughest games. I believe we’ll win one of these games. I’m predicting 12-2 for the season. I believe we have to beat auburn and Ohio st to get in the playoffs which we can do but it will be tough. I’ll take it 61 lol
Penn State will handle Auburn...My worry is Wisky in the first game...That is a tough environment to play in and first games can be tricky...Obviously Ohio State is the game to circle...I am expecting the Wisky game to come down to the end...Penn State can't turn the ball over out there or they will get beat...If Penn State plays a relatively clean game from a penalty and turnover standpoint I think they handle wisky by 10 to 14 points...If they turn the ball over and play sloppy they will lose by 10 to 14 pts...We will have a good idea where this team stands after the wisky game...If they play to their talent level they should be unbeaten heading to the shoe...That is my take on this thing...If they go out to wisky and stink up the joint all bets are off...Beating Wisky out the gate is going to do wonders for this team...
I believe you're right on all your points, FD. Win the opener and the sky's the limit. Lose the opener and the soul searching begins.
I have a feeling this is going to be a crazy season for all B10 teams. Wouldn't it be something wisky loses and then penn state loses to ball state .
@psujoe Auburn got mike Bobo to run the offense and he will make Bo Nix into a better QB that game will be tough to win. I think we will will but it will be a tough game. Auburn is the game I got circled it’s going to be a good one.
@southern-psu-fan I also have the Auburn game circled because it will be the first time in almost 2 years that I'm letting loose. Will be casting one of my fly rods on Spring Creek for the two days prior and will be sitting in section EFU at kickoff.
CANT WAIT!
Prog
I agree with FD. I think some may be underestimating the challenge of opening the season on the road in Madison. I also think Ball State isn’t the pushover many think they will be. PSU should win that game but every year someone gets upset by a team like Ball State. If PSU loses the opener, Ball State may become a much closer game than many think. PSU has the chance to go 4-0 to start the season, but losing the opener could also spiral pretty quickly to 1-3. Franklin and Co better have the boys ready to go.
@lionbacker99 they’ll be ready. I believe they’ll play with a chip on their shoulders.
The nice thing about opening with a team the caliber of WI is we should get a pretty good feel for our new OC. I don't think you have to worry about running a vanilla offense and hiding your cards, LOL.
I'm pretty sure the playbook will grow as the year goes on, but I think we'll see everything he's got at this stage of development.
This is by far the BIGGEST first game of the season PSU has played in a long, long time IMO. I am REALLY hoping this team forgot about the 0-5 start and is feeding off the 4-0 end to last season. They have plenty of talent returning, the D should be one of the best in the BIG and one of the top 5 or so in country. I hate to put it on one player, but its going to come down to how well Clifford developed off season. He made some bad decisions last year, had some poor passing games, but then again I think that was more frustration than ability.
I am taking PSU over Whisky by 14. Close first half and then the Lion's pull away. Something like 24-10 is what I am thinking.
GO STATE!
