Preseason College Football Rankings: Can Penn State Contend in the Big Ten?

The Penn State 2012 football season will be nothing like the 2011 football season that was dominated with the Jerry Sandusky sexual assault scandal, the release of long time head football coach Joe Paterno and Paterno's sudden death.

Critics will be questioning whether the Nittany Lions will be able to compete with the rest of the Big Ten.

Urban Meyer is now running Ohio State. Montee Ball is back at Wisconsin. Denard Robinson is looking to take Michigan to their second BCS bowl game in a row. The competition is getting better in the division and many believe Penn State to be falling behind with the rest of the teams that look prepared to dominate in the years to come.

Can Penn State succeed in the Big Ten?

Yes, and here's why:

Penn State's Defense

Even with the arrival of the offensive minded Bill O'Brien, Penn State will still support an explosive and vicious defense. Penn State is, and will be, one of the best defenses in the Big Ten.

Their defensive line and linebacking corp are experienced and athletic. The defensive line is highlighted by DT Jordan Hill and DE Sean Stanley who will both cause offensive lines trouble. The Nittany Lions have a lot of depth at linebacker with Gerald Hodges, Mike Hull, Glenn Carson, Khairi Fortt, Michael Yancich, and Michael Mauti all seeing playing time during the 2012 season.

The secondary is lacking. They are small, unproven, and no one stands out amongst them. However, the defensive line and linebackers will be able to pick up their slack by containing the run and forcing quarterbacks to hurry to make decisions. Their defense will keep them competitive against teams like Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Ohio State, and Wisconsin.

Look for Penn State's defense to dominate in the Big Ten, especially while being led by former Auburn defensive coordinator Ted Roof, who helped lead the Tigers to the 2011 National Championship.

Silas Redd

Many people outside of the Big Ten don't realize just how good Silas Redd is. He can do everything you want from a running back. He can break tackles, out run defenders, fight for extra yardage, make important blocks, make quick cuts and most importantly score.

He was a top 25 running back in 2011 with 1,241 yards rushing, 7 rushing TDs, and a 5.1 yards per rush average. In 2011, he had 6 games of 100+ yards rushing, including fives straight games 129+ yards rushing and a career high of 164 yards rushing against Northwestern.

Silas Redd has the ability to break just about every rushing record at Penn State if given the opportunity. The success of Matt McGloin goes hand in hand with Silas Redd. If Silas Redd succeeds, he will allow for Matt McGloin to succeed, since McGloin relies on short passes to work the ball down the field. If Silas Redd fails, more pressure will be on McGloin to make big throws.

If Silas Redd is used properly in 2012, as I think he will, he will be crucial in earning victories against the top defenses of the Big Ten.

Justin Brown and the Receiving Corps

The Penn State receiving corps is by far one of the best of the Big Ten. This isn't the same group of receivers like Daryll Clark had with Derrick Williams, Deon Butler, and Jordan Norwood. However, they are good and extremely talented.

They are led by senior WR Justin Brown who has been stuck in the shadow of Derek Moye, Brett Brackett, and Graham Zug the past three years. He is finally the No. 1 receiver and will definitely give a number of defenses trouble with his combination of size and speed.

Behind Justin Brown is Devon Smith, Alex Kenney, and Shawney Kersey. All three are very quick and will help take coverage away from Justin Brown. The three aren't big and won't be able to make as many plays as Brown will be able to (especially Devon Smith who is 5'7 and 147 lbs), but the three will help Justin Brown get open for Matt McGloin.

Another key component will be tight ends Kyle Carter and Kevin Haplea. New head coach Bill O'Brien will be using his tight ends a lot for blocking and receiving purposes. Carter and Haplea will be called on to fill a similar role like Rob Gronkowski and Anthony Hernandez fill for the New England Patriots. This will cause defenses a lot of trouble with the two becoming big targets especially in the red zone. Both are big and athletic and will be able to help the Nittany Lions score.

Matt McGloin

Matt McGloin is no Kerry Collins, Todd Blackledge, Michael Robinson, Daryll Clark or Anthony Morelli.

The best move head coach Bill O'Brien has made so far is his early naming of Matt McGloin as the starting quarterback. O'Brien doesn't want to make the same mistake that the Nittany Loins made in 2011 in which they never could choose who would start during the season.

The constant shuffling between Matt McGloin and Rob Bolden truly hurt the Penn State offense and stopped them from truly discovering what they were capable of. Matt McGloin's favorite target was Derek Moye, while Rob Bolden favored Justin Brown. Matt McGloin favored short passes and running the ball to work their way down the field. Rob Bolden favored the "big play" and making plays with his feet to try and confuse defenses. Sadly, neither method worked because neither quarterback was allowed to be the full time starter.

However, the 2012 football season is going to be completely different. The team is officially Matt McGloin's. Paul Jones will be taking the 2012 season to learn Bill O'Brien's system for the 2013 year while Rob Bolden is the third string quarterback, a true statement that can attest to the fact that this is Matt McGloin's team.

Matt McGloin can play and run an offense. The Nittany Lions are 7-4 when McGloin starts and 12-4 when he gets the majority of the snaps. Matt McGloin has beaten every team in the Big Ten besides Michigan State, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. McGloin will be able to succeed this year especially with the support of the coaching staff, a perennial defense, and a number of offensive weapons.  

Bill O'Brien

Former New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O'Brien is the new head coach of Penn State. Coach O'Brien will help the Nittany Lions become more of a competitive force in the Big Ten. O'Brien is bringing a very unique offense to Penn State. The new offense will combine aspects of a pro-style, west coast, and spread offense (among others). He will turn players like Justin Brown and Silas Redd into offensive threats that other defensive coordinators will scratch their heads about when thinking how to contain them.

O'Brien comes from the Bill Belichick coaching tree that includes other successful college head coaches such as Kirk Ferentz (108-87 record at Iowa, 2 Big Ten conference titles, a 1-1 record in BCS bowl games, and 5 seasons ranked in the Top 20), Pat Hill (112-80 record at Fresno State, 1 WAC conference title, and a 15 year run with only 3 losing seasons), and Nick Saban (103-28 record at LSU and Alabama, 4 SEC conference titles, a 4-2 record in BCS bowl games, and 3 national championships).  

The rest of the Big Ten needs to prepare for a different Penn State. Teams will not see the same conventional Penn State that was very reliant on the run game to win football games. It will be a very unique team that will call on their offense to make plays on the ground and in the air leaving defenses scrambling to adjust. This is something Penn State hasn't done particularly well since the early 90s when QB Kerry Collins and RB Ki-Jana Carter were running the show.

This is a new team, led by a new coach, that will take every challenge head on and give each team in the Big Ten a run for their money.