2013-14 Football Previews – (Big 10) – Nittany Lions
Penn State’s 2012 football season was as successful on the field as anyone could have imagined. After losing their home opener to the Ohio Bobcats, Penn State won eight of their last 11 games to finish off a very tough season with an 8-4 record. Bill O’Brien did nothing short of a masterful job with this team in his first year at the school.
Big 10 Conference 2013 College Football Previews: Penn State Nittany Lions (Team Link)
Head Coach: Bill O’Brien
2012 Record: 8-4
Penn State Gambling Odds from BetOnline: Season Win Total over/under: 8
Despite the fact that the team knew they had nothing to play for as far as a postseason, O’Brien’s team left it all on the field every single game. The Nittany Lions finished the 2012 season at 9-2-1 ATS. Penn State’s defense led the way in 2012, but the offense came around as the season progressed as well. Make no mistake about it; Penn State still faces all kinds of challenges moving forward. How will year two of the O’Brien era go in Happy Valley?
Team Strengths:
Could a college football team ever be more stacked at the tight end position than the Penn State Nittany Lions are this year? There are four tight ends on this roster that should get a ton of playing time this year.
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Jesse James and Kyle Carter are probably the two best right now, but the amount of upside from this young foursome of tight ends is amazing. Adam Breneman was one of the highest touted recruits in the nation this season. O’Brien will be utilizing his tight ends in the passing game a lot this year.
The front seven on the defensive side of the ball should be very good once again. Losing Michael Mauti will definitely hurt the linebackers, but Glenn Carson is ready to step up and take on the leadership role. On the defensive front, DaQuan Jones and Deion Barnes should have a big season. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
While he is a youngster, Christian Hackenburg seems like the perfect guy to fit into O’Brien’s offense. Hackenburg wasn’t scared away by Penn State’s sanctions, and he was a huge signing for this program. He’ll take a little bit of time to get comfortable, but I expect him to be very good by the end of the year.
Team Weaknesses:
Penn State is just now beginning to feel the pain of the lost scholarships, and they’ll be a little less deep across the board starting this season. The problem will get even worse in the next couple years, but it is going to feel strange for a team like Penn State to have depth chart problems.
Penn State’s secondary could be a major weakness this year. Adrian Amos is a very solid cornerback, but the team is thinking about moving him to safety because of their major need at that position. There are plenty of teams in the Big Ten who are capable of exposing this weakness, and that has to be a major concern coming into the season for the Nittany Lions.
2013-2014 Penn State Football Prediction: 9-3
Penn State has a very good chance of starting the season 5-0. The Nittany Lions have tough road games in the Big Ten against Ohio State and Wisconsin that they are unlikely to win, but they have very winnable home games. The key game to watch might be there November 23 home game against Nebraska. Thanks to a relatively light schedule, I like the Nittany Lions chances of having another quality season. Look for big things from Hackenburg.
2013 PSU Schedule
8/31/13 3:30 PM ET @SYR
9/7/13 12:00 PM ET EMICH
9/14/13 6:00 PM ET CENFL
9/21/13 TBD KENST
10/5/13 TBD @IND
10/12/13 5:00 PM ET MICH
10/26/13 8:00 PM ET @OHIST
11/2/13 TBD ILL
11/9/13 TBD @MINN
11/16/13 TBD PURD
11/23/13 TBD NEB
11/30/13 TBD @WISC
