Penn State 2012 Football Schedule: Keys to Each Game

After a season that included so much off-the-field drama, Penn State will finally have a chance to put that in the past, as a new football season is rapidly approaching.

The Nittany Lions have a new head coach in Bill O'Brien, but have a lot of questions, as they only return nine starters from a year ago. This will be a new chapter in Penn State's great history and should be another interesting season as it sets out to reach a bowl game for the eighth season in a row.

We gave a few predictions about the Penn State schedule, listed a couple of must-win games and now it's time to provide the keys to victory. Here is a way the Nittany Lions can win every game on the 2012 football schedule.

Vs. Ohio

Key: Don't look ahead.

Sure, Ohio won 10 games last season in the MAC, but it's the MAC. The Bobcats don't run into ranked teams or powerhouse teams very often, which means they likely don't stand a chance in this ball game. I know they do return 14 starters, including eight on defense, but when was the last time they had to stop a running back like Silas Redd?

Penn State is way too physical, has the better athletes and should end up winning this game fairly easily. It's just more of a question if the Nittany Lions will get caught looking ahead to the big game against Virginia next week.

Focus on the task at hand, get Bill O'Brien his first victory as head coach and then move on with the season.

At Virginia

Key: Slow down that running game.

Michael Rocco showed some signs of being a solid quarterback for the Cavaliers, but it's without question the running game that will lead this Virginia team to success. With runners such as Perry Jones, Kevin Parks and Clifton Richardson all returning, this is one of the more complete backfields in the country and could do damage in the ACC this season.

The running game is very important to Virginia, as in three of its five losses last year, they failed to top 150 yards on the ground. Meanwhile, the Nittany Lions are 22-2 in the last three seasons when they hold opponents to under 150 yards rushing.

This will be a very interesting and big game for both teams; the running game will likely be the key factor for both offenses and the key to victory.

Vs. Navy

Key: Stop the running game.

Navy has always been one of the top running teams in the country, and although it only returns four starters on offense, you can expect that to remain the same.

Navy has averaged over 250 yards on the ground the last five seasons. Last year, the Midshipmen only threw the ball a total of 135 times against 694 rushing attempts. That was also a majority of their scoring offense: 34 touchdowns on the ground, 10 through the air.

Navy is the definition of a one-dimensional offense, and if the Nittany Lions can stop that running game, they'll likely win the game. 

Vs. Temple

Key: Protect the quarterback.

Penn State should end up winning this game regardless of the questions this team may have. Temple only returns nine starters and was about as one-dimensional on offense as you're going to get. But the Owls did lead the MAC last season with 32 sacks and were always getting pressure in the opposing quarterbacks face.

The Nittany Lions are busy trying to rebuild an offensive line that lost all but one starter from last season. If there's any chance the Owls can find a weakness, it's likely pressuring the Nittany Lions quarterback and trying to force a mistake or two.

But then again, Penn State has won 29 straight games against Temple, so it may not even matter.

At Illinois

Key: Generate pressure.

Illinois returns a total of 15 starters, including seven on the offensive side of the ball. The offense wasn't that great last season, but a lot of that had to do with poor offensive line performances. There weren't many teams that allowed more sacks than Illinois did last season, as it finished with 46 sacks allowed on the year. That was good for 10th in the Big Ten and 109th in the entire country.

What makes those statistics even more bizarre is that 21 of those sacks were allowed at home.

Penn State did its fair share of sacking the quarterback last season, and if Illinois offensive line fails to show up once again, the Nittany Lions should win their fourth game in five meetings against them.

Vs. Northwestern

Key: Stop them on third downs.

Although head coach Pat Fitzgerald is doing a great job with this Northwestern program, the Nittany Lions have won the last five meetings against the Wildcats. This season, they only return five starters on offense, but one of the main reasons they remain so competitive is that the convert on third down.

Last season, they were second in the Big Ten, only behind Wisconsin with 47 percent, which was good for 13th in the country. Despite losing to the Nittany Lions by 10 points last year, the Wildcats were able to hang around by converting on seven of 15 third down attempts.

If Penn State would like to make it six straight victories over the Wildcats, the defense must be able to get off the field.

At Iowa

Key: Force James Vandenberg into mistakes.

Iowa was a balanced football team last season and should be even better, as it returns 11 starters. Quarterback James Vandenberg is one of the more underrated quarterbacks in the conference and could be poised to have a breakout season.

Although Vandenberg only threw seven interceptions in his first season as a starter, the Hawkeyes finished 2-4 in the games he turned the ball over once. Those odds sit well considering Penn State went 9-2 last season when the defense forced at least one turnover.

The Nittany Lions don't have the offensive firepower to match Vandenberg if he gets going; it's important to keep him in check and force a few mistakes.

Vs. Ohio State

Key: Generate pressure.

There weren't many teams in the country that had as terrible an offensive line as the Buckeyes last season. In fact, they allowed 46 sacks, which was dead last in the Big Ten, and good for 118th in the country. The good news for Penn State is that the offensive line remains an issue for Ohio State, losing three linemen from last season and having to shift players around.

Penn State wasn't too shabby at pressuring the quarterback last season, finishing the year with 31 sacks, good for third in the conference.

In the last two seasons, Penn State is 11-3 when it picks up at least two sacks. It could be the key to the school's second consecutive victory over the Buckeyes for the first time since 1978-1980.

At Purdue

Key: Produce big plays on offense.

I'm not sure if Penn State’s offense is capable of breaking off big plays; after all, it only produced 152 plays over 10 yards, which was good for 10th in the Big Ten. The good news is that Purdue wasn't much better at preventing the big plays on defense.

Purdue allowed 205 plays that went over 10 yards, which was by far the worst in the conference and tied for 106 worst in the country. They also allowed 54 plays that went over 20 yards, which was third worst in the Big Ten, only ahead of Northwestern and Indiana.

In the victory over the Boilermakers last season, Penn State produced 367 yards of total offense and scored 23 points. If it's able to keep a steady balance of offense once again, the Nittany Lions should have no problem winning their sixth in a row over Purdue.

At Nebraska

Key: Contain Rex Burkhead.

Have you seen Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez try to throw the football? That should truly answer as to why slowing down the running game is the key to victory. Running back Rex Burkhead really made this offense go last season, rushing for over 1,300 yards and scoring 17 total touchdowns. In all four of Nebraska's losses, Burkhead failed to rush for over 100 yards.

In the Nittany Lions' loss last year, the running back reached 121 rushing yards and scored a touchdown early in the third quarter to put the dagger into Penn State.

If Penn State would like to win its second game against Nebraska in the last five meetings, it will start by forcing Martinez to throw the football.

Vs. Indiana

Key: Prevent red zone conversions.

Penn State is a perfect 15-0 against Indiana all-time, so a key to victory certainly isn't needed. It appears they have the formula already. But if there truly is a key, it would be to buckle down on defense inside the red zone.

Indiana got inside the red zone 37 times last season (the same amount as the Florida Gators), but only scored 75 percent of the time, ranking 98th in the country. Only seven teams had a lower touchdown percentage at 48 percent, which played a huge factor in why their scoring offense was ranked 101st overall.

The problem is that Penn State had the worst red-zone defense in the Big Ten, allowing scores 91 percent of the time, with 58 percent of those scores going for six.

Something has to give in this game.

Vs. Wisconsin

Key: Contain Montee Ball.

It's no secret who's going to carry this Wisconsin Badger team this season. Running back Montee Ball rushed for over 1,900 yards last season and scored 39 touchdowns. With quarterback Russell Wilson in the NFL and a few other key offensive weapons no longer on the roster, he's going to remain the workhorse for offensive success.

Ball carried the ball 25 times last season and finished with 156 rushing yards and four touchdowns in the 45-7 victory over the Nittany Lions. If Penn State would like to get some type of revenge on the Badgers for that beatdown, the defense must do a better job at containing the Heisman candidate.

If the Nittany Lions are able to force the Badgers to find offensive production elsewhere, they'll certainly have a chance in this contest.