College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Penn State Nittany Lions season with what you need to know.
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– Penn State Previews 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2019 Record: 11-2 overall, 7-2 in Big Ten
Head Coach: James Franklin, 7th year, 56-23
2019 CFN Final Opinion Ranking: 9
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 5
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 17
No one knows what’s going to happen to the 2020 college football season. We’ll take a general look at where each team stands – doing it without spring ball to go by – while crossing our fingers that we’ll all have some well-deserved fun this fall. Hoping you and yours are safe and healthy.
5. College Football News Preview 2020: Penn State Nittany Lions Offense 3 Things To Know
– The offense needs to be more consistent and it has to do even more. It scored more points than the 2018 version, but 79 of them came in the opener against Idaho, 59 came against a Maryland team that struggled to do anything right in the loss, and 53 came against a Memphis D that was a mere rumor. The team scored fewer than 30 points in seven of the last 11 games.
It starts with the return of senior Sean Clifford, who pulled off a little bit of a shocker before last season by rising up and taking the starting quarterback gig, and then came up with a nice season throwing for 2,654 yards and 23 touchdowns with just seven picks.
A decent runner, he scored five touchdowns on the ground, but his real worth was his ability to hit the big play. He averaged 8.3 yards per pass, Trace McSorley averaged seven yards a throw the year before. Junior Will Levis and sophomore Ta’Quan Robinson are back as the backups.
CFN in 60 Video: Penn State Nittany Lions Preview
– Where are the wide receivers? There’s talent, there’s just not a lot of experience. Pat Freiermuth is one of the nation’s best tight ends, and junior Jahan Dotson is a nice deep threat who finished third on the team with 27 catches with five scores, averaging over 18 yards per catch.
Justin Shorter transferred to Florida, KJ Hamler is now a Denver Bronco, and the No. 2 returning wide receiver – junior Daniel George – caught just nine passes.
– The offensive line was good against the mediocre, and it struggled throughout the year at keeping defense out of the backfield – Penn State was 11th in the Big Ten in sacks allowed – but it was terrific for the ground game.
Tackle Will Fries and center Michal Menet are All-Big Ten-caliber blockers, and two other starters are back to a large group that should be better. Now the ground game that finished fourth in the Big Ten, but has the potential to be stronger.
Former super-recruit Ricky Slade is taking off through the transfer portal, but leading rusher Journey Brown and 223-pound sophomore thumper Noah Cain are back. They combined for 20 rushing touchdowns, and 2019 star recruit Devyn Ford should get even more work.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Penn State Nittany Lions Defense 3 Things To Know
4. College Football News Preview 2020: Penn State Nittany Lions Defense 3 Things To Know
– The defense that allowed 347 yards per game only gave up 16 points per outing and led the Big Ten against the run. The pass rush was suffocating, it was one of the best defenses in the country at coming up with tackles for loss, it allowed fewer than 14 points eight times, and it got the job done with a veteran group that dominated at times. And now there’s a bit of a problem.
Nine of the top ten tacklers are gone.
– Fortunately, leading tackler and future NFL star Micah Parsons is back at one outside linebacker spot. He’s an all-around terror who made 83 stops and lived behind the line, but he’ll need help.
Ellis Brooks is a 236-pound senior who made 30 tackles in the rotation – he can handle the inside – and 6-3, 240-pound Brandon Smith is a former superstar recruit who’ll likely get one of the other outside jobs.
6-4, 305-pound junior PJ Mustipher and 6-2, 315-pound senior Antonio Shelton will be fine at tackle, but replacing the pass rushing production of Yetur Gross-Matos, Shareef Miller and Robert Windsor will be a problem. Shaka Toney is fine at one end – the senior came up with five sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss – but the pressure is on junior Jayson Oweh to rise up on the other side.
– The secondary has talent, and it’s going to be better than 13th in the Big Ten in pass defense. To be fair, the Nittany Lions often gave up a ton of yards because teams bombed away to try keeping up the pace, and there weren’t a whole lot of big things happening down the field – for the most part.
S Lamont Wade and CB Tariq Castro-Fields will be all-stars, but there will be fights for the other spots. Out of the 13 interceptions, only one accounted for is back, and that lone pick came from LB Ellis Brooks.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Top Penn State Nittany Lions Players
College Football News Preview 2020: Top Penn State Nittany Lions Players
Best Penn State Nittany Lions Offensive Player
TE Pat Freiermuth, Jr.
The 6-5, 259-pound All-Big Ten star caught 43 passes for 507 yard sand seven touchdowns, doing a great job of working his way open down the middle and using his big frame to be a matchup nightmare.
He caught three touchdown passes in the win over Michigan State, and gave Minnesota fits with seven catches for 101 yards. He’s a next-level starter who gets one more year in the Nittany Lion attack – expect him to be an even bigger part of the game plan.
2. RB Journey Brown, Sr.
3. QB Sean Clifford, Sr.
4. OT Will Fries, Sr.
5. C Michal Menet, Sr.
Best Penn State Nittany Lions Defensive Player
LB Micah Parsons, Jr.
The super-recruit of a few years ago has more than played up to the hype. At 6-3 and 244 pounds, he’s got ideal outside linebacker size and the burst to live behind the line and make lots and lots of big plays.
The All-America talent led the team with 109 tackles with five sacks and 14 tackles for loss, and he broke up five passes and forced four fumbles. He’s an all over the field playmaker who came up with ten tackles or more in six of the last seven games, and expect him to get to the quarterback even more.
2. DE Shaka Toney, Sr.
3. CB Tariq Castro-Fields, Sr.
4. S Lamont Wade, Sr.
5. LB Ellis Brooks, Sr.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Penn State Nittany Lions Keys To The Season
College Football News Preview 2020: Penn State Nittany Lions Keys To The Season
Biggest Key To The Penn State Nittany Lions Offense
It really would be nice if the passing game could be more accurate. It was effective with Sean Clifford at the helm, but in a day and age when hitting 60% of throws is just okay, completing 58.8% of throws isn’t good enough.
But that’s been Penn State. Before Clifford, Trace McSorley was a gamer, but he wasn’t all that accurate – the Nittany Lion offense only hit 60% or more once in the last ten years.
The downfield plays were there under Clifford, and there weren’t that many problems on third downs, but take the completion percentage to at least a pedestrian 63ish% on a consistent basis, and things might be even smoother for an already good offense.
Biggest Key To The Penn State Nittany Lions Defense
Don’t allow a lot of points. Duh … that’s sort of the whole point of playing defense. However, over the last four years under James Franklin, good things happen when his defenses keep teams under 27 points.
The Nittany Lions are 31-1 when allowing fewer than 27 points – only losing 21-17 to Michigan State in 2018. When allowing 27 or more, they’re 9-10.
So how does the defense keep the score low? Simple – get off the field.
Time of possession hasn’t meant a whole lot to Penn State over the years, but that means the defense can’t be taxed by giving up long drives. The defense was just okay on third down stops overall, but when it allowed teams to convert fewer than 40% of their chances, the team was 6-0, and almost always with ease.
Key Penn State Nittany Lions Player To A Successful Season
WR Jahan Dotson, Jr.
The Penn State receiving corps is fine. There’s a whole lot of talent ready to rise up and rock, but there’s not a lot of experience with so many of the parts from last year gone.
The offense spreads it around to the backs just fine, and TE Pat Freiermuth is special, but a No. 1 wideout has to emerge with KJ Hamler done.
The 5-11, 184-pound Dotson was terrific as a big play threat – catching 27 passes for 488 yards and five scores – but he only made more than three grabs once. He’s too fast to not keep using as a take-the-top-off-a-D guy, but he’s also the most experienced weapon of the bunch.
Key Game To The Penn State Nittany Lions Season
Ohio State, Oct. 24
If this seems too obvious, it’s because it is – it would take something amazing for Penn State to play for the Big Ten title if it can’t get by Ohio State at home.
Outside of the date at Michigan, the Nittany Lions should be favored in every game but the one on October 24th. Beat the Wolverines, take out the Buckeyes a few weeks later, and the Big Ten East should be all but won.
– Penn State Nittany Lions Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2019 Penn State Fun Stats
– First Quarter Scoring: Penn State 124 – Opponents 54
– Time of Possession: Opponents 32:06 – Penn State 27:54
– Fumbles: Opponents 27 (lost 12) – Penn State 16 (lost 5)
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Penn State Nittany Lions Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
1. College Football News Preview 2020: Penn State Nittany Lions Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
CFN in 60 Video: Penn State Nittany Lions Preview
Three 11-win seasons in the last four years, three New Year’s Six bowl appearances in the last four years, a 2016 Big Ten Championship, and a whole lot of USC fans feeling ticked off that they don’t have a new coach with that resumé.
Can we please put James Franklin in the elite head coach category?
Penn State fans want national titles, and yearly runs to the Big Ten championship, and all the things that go along with being a superpower program, but not everyone can be Ohio State, Alabama or Clemson.
That’s not to say that Penn State shouldn’t be satisfied with anything less than a championship – it’s right there with Wisconsin as the best programs in the College Football Playoff era to not get in – but put into perspective what Franklin has been able to do.
Remember, when he took over six years ago, the program was in the midst of an all-time disaster, wasn’t allowed to go bowling, and was dealing with real NCAA death penalty-level discussions.
Again, three 11-win seasons in four years. Penn State last did that from 1968 through 1971, and Franklin is dealing with a much, much tougher schedule than Joe Paterno faced back then.
This year’s team has the potential to make it four 11-win seasons in five for the first time in the program’s history.
There might not be a slew of Saquon Barkley brand-name superstars, but it’s a rock-solid team across the board.
Set The Penn State Nittany Lions Regular Season Win Total At … 9.5
Bet at BetMGM Win Total Line: 9.5
The schedule isn’t all that horrible considering there’s no Wisconsin or Minnesota, and the Ohio State game is at home.
Going to Virginia Tech and Michigan will be tough, and back-to-back games against Indiana and Nebraska will be difficult, but the Nittany Lions will be favorites in at least ten games.
Set the line at 9.5, but this year’s team is good enough to do a whole lot more. If it can beat Ohio State, a spot in the Big Ten Championship is right there for the taking.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– Schedule Analysis
https://www.googletagservices.com/tag/js/gpt.js”
