Blue White Illustrated

F A S T F O R W A R D >> A N E A R L Y L O O K makes him such an effective player for the Lions. On the first of those receptions, he lowered his shoulder and sent a would-be tackler sprawling backward, setting up a touchdown in the process. His second catch converted a key third down in the second half. For the season, Freiermuth finished as Penn State's second-leading receiver with 43 catches for 507 yards and seven touchdowns. He's caught at least one pass in 25 consecutive games, a streak dating to the second game of his true freshman season. But while the top of their depth chart looks strong, the Lions will need to build some depth following Bowers' gradua- tion. After a couple of injury-plagued years at the start of his career, Bowers ended with a solid senior season, ranking fourth on the team with 214 receiving yards on 10 catches. His graduation makes Kuntz the team's most experi- enced backup. Kuntz saw action in three games as a redshirt freshman, catching G etting to the Big Ten Championship Game and College Football Playoff is never going to be easy for anyone. It certainly won't be easy for Penn State in 2020. The Nittany Lions' upcoming oppo- nents put together a combined record of 80-72 in 2019. Seven of them played in bowl games, and Ohio State reached the College Football Playoff, falling to Clemson in a semifinal matchup marred by a number of controversial officiating decisions. Here's a look at how the Lions' up- coming opponents are shaping up now that the off-season is under way: KENT STATE Sept. 5 | The Golden Flashes went into the off-season with plenty of momentum. They won their last three regular-season games to be- come bowl-eligible, including a 30-27 victory over Buffalo in which they rallied back from a three-touchdown deficit in the final eight minutes. Then they de- feated Utah State, 51-41, in the Frisco Bowl to claim the first bowl win in school history. Next season, they'll re- turn quarterback Dustin Crum, who set a school record with his 69.3 percent completion rate and compiled a touch- down-interception ratio of 20-2. Crum and company will have their work cut out for them in September, though. Two weeks after opening at Penn State, the Golden Flashes will face Kentucky. One week later, they'll play Alabama. @ VIRGINIA TECH Sept. 12 | The first- ever meeting between the Hokies and Nittany Lions was originally supposed to take place in 2022 but was moved up two years, while Virginia Tech's trip to Beaver Stadium was pushed back from 2023 to 2025. This year, the Hokies are expected to return 20 of 22 starters from a team that went 8-5 in coach Justin Fuente's fourth season in Blacksburg. Their 2019 season ended on a disappointing note, as Kentucky scored the decisive touchdown with 15 seconds left in a 37-30 Belk Bowl victory. But Virginia Tech has the mak- ings of a solid team in 2020. Hendon Hooker threw for 1,555 yards and was the squad's second-leading rusher with 356 yards as a redshirt sophomore, winning six of his eight starts. SAN JOSE STATE Sept. 19 | The Spartans fielded one of the nation's most produc- tive passing attacks last season, as quar- terback Josh Love threw for 3,923 yards for a team that finished 5-7. But Love has graduated, and his likely replacement, Nick Nash, missed much of last season with an ankle injury. San Jose State will also miss graduated linebackers Ethan Aguayo and Jesse Osuna, who combined for 166 tackles. After giving up 443.8 yards per game in 2019, the Spartans need a quick fix on this side of the ball. Their 2020 recruiting class should help. Of the 16 players they signed, 13 are de- fensive prospects. Four of those 13 are juco players, so that should speed the acclimation process. NORTHWESTERN Sept. 26 | Just one year removed from an appearance in the Big Ten Championship Game, the Wild- cats flatlined last season, finishing 3-9 and 1-8 in the Big Ten. The biggest problem was a dreadful passing game that ranked last in the Football Bowl Subdivision in efficiency rating and prompted Pat Fitzgerald to say in No- vember that "some of our guys did not do the things they needed to do to pre- pare for the season." For the sake of new offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian, formerly of Boston College, the return- ing quarterbacks had better do those things this year. If the Wildcats approxi- mate last year's numbers, which in- cluded a touchdown-interception ratio of 6-15, it'll be another long season. @ MICHIGAN Oct. 3 | The Wolverines haven't exactly been invincible at the Big House in recent years, but you wouldn't know it from their results against Penn State. Michigan has outscored the Nittany Lions 91-17 in their past two visits to Ann Arbor. Jim Harbaugh's team is coming off of two disappointing performances, consecu- tive losses to Ohio State in the regular- season finale and Alabama in the Citrus Bowl. It got some good news earlier this month when receiver Nico Collins an- nounced he would be returning for his senior year, but who's going to be throw- ing to him? Dylan McCaffrey backed up Shea Patterson last season but didn't see much action. His most likely competitor | SWING SLATE One of the key variables in the Lions' outlook is their schedule. Here's how it shapes up

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