With the Penn State football season just days away, it's time for my game-by-game analysis and predictions for how this football season will turn out.
Going into this, I have had some mixed feelings. I feel that this is a team that should win at least 10 games, but with the questions about the coaching staff and how conservative they get in big road games—of which we have a couple this year—I fear for a possible eight-win season.
This would be a huge disappointment given that we have so much experience returning on both sides of the ball, including the top receiving corps in the Big Ten, and the entire offensive line.
This is an offense that many were down on last year because of our performance in big games. However, Penn State did score 394 total points last year (Ohio State scored 408), proving that they can be explosive at times.
The problem was our two lowest-scoring games were against the ‘The Big Two’ of the Big Ten, Ohio State and Michigan, including just a nine-point outing at "The (former) Big House."
With the return of the spread offense this year, I think things will be more like 2005, when Penn State won the Big Ten.
With that said, let’s begin.
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
This should be a nice opening game for Penn State to finally apply this new offense to a meaningful game. This will also be a great way to start for Daryl Clark and/or Pat Devlin against a team that uses a mix of 4-3 and 3-4 defensive looks.
Coastal Carolina does return 21 starters, so this is a team with experience. The Chanticleers are picked to finish second in the Big South but should be extremely overmatched when they visit Happy Valley.
I predict a very fast start for this Penn State offense, as Joe Paterno likes to open up early in these early non-conference matchups (see Akron 2004, 2007, etc.). I think both Clark and Devlin should see significant playing time in this game with the fans getting to see how each can/will be used.
Penn State will score touchdowns in all sorts of ways in this game: Daryl Clark running and throwing, Stephon Green returning a kick, Evan Royster running the ball, and let’s throw in an interception and a big start for what should be a big season for Anthony Scirrotto.
In the end, Penn State will win this game, 49-3.
Oregon State Beavers
Week Two brings the Oregon State Beavers of the Pac-10 into Beaver Stadium. This is a team that finished 9-4 last year and was in the middle of the pack in the Pac-10. However, only three starters from last year’s team return for the 2008 campaign. OSU will be relying on junior college transfers on defense who do have some college experience.
Lyle Moevao has proven to be a reliable starter at QB for the Beavers after stepping in late in the season in 2007 and going 4-0. The main concern on the offensive side of the ball is replacing running back Yvenson Bernard. Depth at the offensive line should help the Beavers' running back by committee strategy early in the season.
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