Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/104338
LOOKING AHEAD PSU surprised the nation last season. Can it do so again in 2013? E ven before Alabama throttled Notre Dame in the BCS Championship Game, the first poll of the 2013 football season had been released. The NationalChamps.net Early Bird 2013 poll had the Crimson Tide at No. 1, followed by Stanford, Oregon, Georgia and Texas A&M. Five Big Ten teams were included in the top 25 and another one appeared in an "others receiving consideration" addendum, but Penn State was nowhere to be found on either list. No surprise there. One thing that's become apparent since the NCAA levied its sanctions last summer is that the Nittany Lions are not going to be burdened by sky-high expectations during the next few years. They stunned the college football world just by winning eight games last season, and with several of the key players from the 2012 team graduating and the NCAA's scholarship reductions taking effect this year, it's unlikely that the Nittany Lions will get much preseason love from the pollsters in 2013. Tim Owen Which, all things considered, is probably as it should be. This is a team with some questions to answer. Take the quarterback position, which has gotten a lot more complex in the past year. Matt McGloin tied for the Big Ten lead in passing attempts in 2012 and led the league in completions. Do the Lions have someone ready to become his successor? The jury's out, and probably won't be in until August. That's because none of the candidates for the job have even a fraction of the experience that McGloin brought to the position a year ago. With the Lions relying much more heavily on the passing game than in years past, it's a big concern. Meanwhile, on defense, Penn State must replace four of its top five tacklers from last season, including its inspirational leader, senior outside linebacker Michael Mauti. Filling those holes will be a tough job, and although the Nittany Lions could build some momentum against a preseason schedule that features Syracuse, Eastern Michigan, Virginia and Kent State, there won't be any