Penn St. Nittany Lions 2010 Season Preview/Prediction
The College Football season may be 5-6 weeks away but our man Kyle Hunter has been deep in study and will provide his take and 2010 College Football Predictions on as many NCAA teams as he can before the 2010/11 season kicks off.
We start from the top and move our way down so keep checking in for more college football previews for the 2010-2011 NCAA Football Season!
2010 NCAA Football Predictions – Teams | Analysis | Previews Online
Big Ten 2010-2011 Football Previews: Penn St. Nittany Lions
Coach: Joe Paterno
2009 Record: 11-2
Penn St. Gambling Odds from Sportsbook.com to win BCS: +5000
A few years ago everyone thought Joe Paterno was washed up and the Nittany Lions were on their way to being an afterthought in the Big Ten. Fast forward to today and Penn State has become one of the strongest teams in the league again, and Paterno is going as strong as ever at 83 years of age. Last year was a successful season, but this year they’ll be missing their leader at quarterback in Daryll Clark.
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The team still has a nice nucleus to build around, but the schedule will get much more difficult this season. The Nittany Lions will face the defending National Champions in their second game of the year, so there won’t be much time to tune up.
Team Strengths:
The Nittany Lions probably have the best running back in the Big Ten in Evan Royster. Royster will likely become Penn State’s all-time leading rusher this year, which is quite a feat. Stefan Wisniewski has been moved from center to guard in hopes of helping get the offensive line back up to Penn State standards after a bit of a down year last season. 
The defensive line should be absolutely tremendous. Jack Crawford is a supremely talented defensive end and the entire line should prove a nightmare for the opposing offenses. I fully expect Penn State to get plenty of penetration without blitzing their linebackers or safeties.
In addition to the defensive line, the secondary appears to be an area of strength for Penn State. Paterno has stated that he is very pleased with where they are at in recent practices and Chaz Powell has switched over from receiver to cornerback and looks like he is ready to start right away.
Team Weaknesses:
The Nittany Lions will certainly have difficulty replacing Clark at the quarterback spot. Paterno hasn’t made it official yet who will start the season under center. Kevin Newsome and Matt McGloin both are sophomores with a decent chance, but don’t be shocked if true freshman Paul Jones gets some action as well.
The quarterbacks have talent, but they will need to be broken in, and it could be a problem with this tough of a schedule.
It isn’t that the Nittany Lions won’t be any good at the linebacker spot, but it will be a huge drop off from last year. All three starters are gone, including Lee and Bowman, who were both high draft choices in the NFL.
The special teams at Penn State should improve some, but they have been terrible in the last couple of years. In all phases of the coverage and return games they were ranked lower than 100th in the nation last year.
2010-2011 Penn St. Football Prediction: 9-4
Most people will predict Penn State to finish with a better record than 9-4, but I think they could slip a little this season.
The tough road games will be a big problem for a team with a new quarterback and poor special teams.
Expect Paterno’s team to improve as the season progresses, but I still believe they will almost certainly fall short of their 11 win mark of a year ago.
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