Penn State football has had a rather noisy offseason, but not much of it has dealt with on-field play.

Their most talented cornerback, Justin King, left school for the NFL draft.  Penn State lost in the Terrelle Pryor recruiting sweepstakes.  Many players drew negative media attention for their off-the-field behavior.

Sean Lee, the team's best returning player and best hope to continue PSU's tradition of three straight Bednarik award winners, is lost for the season with an injury.  Joe Paterno is in the last season of his contract, still with no exit strategy in place.

However, the outlook remains optimistic for the upcoming season.

Penn State will most likely look to senior Darryl Clark to take over as quarterback, a player who will hopefully give the offense the look it had with Michael Robinson at the helm three years ago.

The talented receiving core of Deon Butler, Jordan Norwood, and Derrick Williams are all entering their senior seasons.

They, along with two talented young running backs (Evan Royster and Stephfon Green) and two outstanding tight ends (Andrew Quarless and Mickey Shuler), should give Clark plenty of options on the offensive side of the ball.

The defense remains deep at linebacker, despite the injury to Lee, and returns a lot of talent both in the secondary and on the defensive line.  Don't be surprised to see big seasons out of safety Anthony Scirotto (who has put his off-field issues behind him) and corner A.J. Wallace, who will take over Justin King's spot.

The pieces look like they are all in place, but time will tell if the coaching staff can bring these players together to become a successful team.

Here are my predictions for the upcoming season.

August 30: Penn State vs. Coastal Carolina

Although I hate to see Penn State scheduling weak opponents like Coastal Carolina, this game should give the Nittany Lions a chance to get accustomed to playing with each other with very small risk of losing.  I expect a slow start, especially offensively, but in the end this should be a blow-out.

Penn State 48, Coastal Carolina 6

This game should give a good indication of what to expect for the rest of the season.  Penn State very rarely loses to teams they should beat.  Oregon State is coming off a solid season, and Penn State has not matched up against a Pac-10 team in recent years.

Thoughts of Oregon thrashing Michigan and USC pounding Illinois last year scare me a little, but I think Penn State has enough talent to get by the Beavers, especially at home.

This win should give the Lions a lot of confidence for the Big Ten schedule.  I predict a strong start for PSU at home, and for them to hold on to a comfortable lead for the rest of the game.

Penn State 31, Oregon State 20

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