Are the Penn State Nittany Lions For Real?

A common argument against Penn State is that their schedule is too weak.  While this is an argument for a separate article, I feel obligated to make a small comment here. 

Assessing their out of conference schedule thus far, CCU was scheduled as a guaranteed home opening win; just about every team does this. 

Oregon State was scheduled because they were supposed to be an up and coming team.  Unfortunately, they have not progressed.  Syracuse is a rivalry game from way back in the day. 

PSU alumni still hate Syracuse to this day from back in the Penn State-Big East discussions.  Temple is another rivalry game played every year. 

The rest of their schedule is necessary Big Ten competition.  If you're still knocking the schedule, look at Ohio State, Michigan, and Illinois.  Teams like Youngstown State, Ohio, Troy, Miami-Ohio, Toledo, Eastern Illinois, and Louisiana-Lafayette can all be found on their schedules.

Now that that's off my chest, let's look at the Lions' remaining schedule.

Illinois:  The Illini started off with an impressive 10-point loss to Mizzou, putting up 42 points in the process.  However, their defense was shredded for 52 points.  They then beat Eastern Illinois by 20, however they still gave up 21 points to a weak opponent. 

Moving forward, they only beat Louisiana-Lafayette by a score of 20-17.  A three-point victory over the Ragin Cajuns???  When Saturday Night Football hits Happy Valley in the White House, the Lions take this one.

Purdue: No real concerns here. W.

Wisconsin: Quite possibly the toughest test for the Lions.  After all, this is a road game, and those seem to not go so well for Dear Old State.  Wisconsin beat Akron considerably and routed Marshall, but played shaky on the road at Fresno State last week. 

Let's keep in mind that Fresno kept Rutgers in the game week one and Rutgers just lost to Navy...really?  If mistakes are minimal, Lions take this one.

Michigan:  Usually, this would probably be a huge paragraph.  Not this year.  Michigan lost to Utah and got spanked by Notre Dame, and only beat Miami-OH by 10 points.  This game is at home for the Lions and an anxious student body gives the Lions the edge. W.

Ohio State: This is the big one.  In Columbus. Tressel vs. Joe Pa.  Terrelle Pryor's first sight of the Lions since his visit to Happy Valley. 

This game is dependent on a few things.  Can the Penn State cornerbacks stop Pryor from airing it out?  Can the Penn State D-line win the battle of the trenches and get to Beanie Wells?  Will Daryll Clark continue to play well and avoid the pass rush?

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