Blue White Illustrated

2 0 1 8 S E A S O N P R E V I E W 9-3: I want to say 10-2, but I have a hard time seeing the production on of- fense replicating what the team did last year. I think the loss of Mike Gesicki will be huge and I am still not sold on Miles Sanders like many people are. The de- fense is young, and I think there will be some growing pains early. AngryOtter 9-3: We lost too many defensive tackles to graduation. No Saquon Barkley and Mike Gesicki will cost us a couple of games, since opposing defenses won't be so worried about their replacements and can play a sounder D. And don't forget that with a new offensive coordinator, things could well slip (scoring from 41 to maybe 35 points per game this season). Even our great QB may struggle more to make big plays without the threat of those great players. Sure, overall team talent may be above last year's, but we are again a young developing team. BobE 9-3: Fifty years of watching the game, and I've come to understand the impor- tance of a single play. No one is that dom- inant that they blast through a season. We lost too much experience, so mistakes will be made. You have to assume we lose a game or two with a freshman kicker. Tell me that he is absolutely perfect, and maybe we win 10, but that is unrealistic. The schedule is tough. A lot has to go right to top that 9 number. jerrycalpal 10-2: Yes there are some toss-up games, but I expect our kicking game (field goals) to be much stronger this year and give us a win that might be un- expected. tdanchik 10-2: I like the way the schedule shapes up with four very winnable games at the start. It'll give the team, especially the D, a chance to jell. JoeP 11-1: The offense will be ahead of the de- fense early on, as the middle of the de- fense matures and adds freshman and redshirt freshman talent. Trace McSorley will be the steady hand who keeps the of- fense going as the new running backs, wide receivers and tight end get used to Ricky Rahne as offensive coordinator. The offensive line will be better, the best in James Franklin's tenure, and must keep Trace healthy. If they do, then the season will be VERY successful and College Football Playoff participation is very likely. CFP is not likely without a healthy Trace, IMHO. The defense will be tal- ented but evolving; the Ohio State game will be a key early test for the defense and for the entire team. The ends and sec- ondary will have to step up and carry the defense early in the season. pioneerlion83 10-2: The home slate is incredibly fa- vorable. This Penn State team hasn't lost a home game since 2015, so in other words, it's really hard to win at Happy Valley. Ohio State is a White Out in what is by all accounts expected to be a night game. Wisconsin, Iowa and Michigan State are all in Happy Valley. If the of- fense continues to hum with Trace Mc- Sorley (a potential first-team preseason All-American) and the defense is at least serviceable, I can't see Penn State losing any of its road games outside of Michi- gan. That said, the upset bug never seems to take a season off. jrs1024 12-0: I'm gonna go all out on this one. Perfect 12-0 season, national champi- onship and a Heisman Trophy for Mc- Sorely. Having our best offensive line in years, our offense positively crushes everyone, bringing back memories of '94, and our defense (after some early-season struggles) is a strength by the time the playoffs come around. Lionguy32 9-3: Penn State will be relying on too many freshmen on defense, and without What do you think the Lions' record will be in 2018? L A S T Y E A R ' S B E S T P I C K S W E B S U R V E Y 10-2: The offense will continue to be dynamic. OL will continue its improve- ment, allowing the RBs to have more opportunities and give McSorley more time to throw. TE/WR group will be strong again. Look for the passing game to be more diverse, with short/intermediate routes to TE and RBs. Moorhead will add more plays to the playbook. The LB group appears solid. I'm looking for breakout years from a couple of the defensive linemen. I'd love to say 11-1, but I'm not sure all the bounces will go our way late in the game like last year. It will still be a great year with a major bowl game and a win this year in the bowl. waltpsuscranton 10-2: We could be a better team than last season and still go 9-3 in the reg- ular season. We are better, but our conference schedule is tougher than last season. Those two losses are in conference and keep us out of the Big Ten Championship Game, unless we get some help via other upsets of Ohio State. A top-10 ranking earns us a New Year's Six bowl, the Fiesta being most likely. This team will be no worse than 9-3, but 11-1 or 12-0 would not be surprising. The upset bug seems to never take a season off, though. Bob78

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