Blue White Illustrated

NATE BAUER Virginia Tech on the road would have been an interesting game. Kent State, San Jose State and North- western, all at Beaver Stadium? Not so much. So, in looking at Penn State's amended eight-game regular-season slate, the overwhelming intrigue of the original, pre-COVID-19 schedule remains. And much of that intrigue is attached to Penn State's results against Ohio State at home, now set for Oct. 31, and at Michi- gan, now set for the Saturday following Thanksgiving. That, and whether or not all of these games will actually be played. Assuming Penn State gets them all in, the Buckeyes are the hang-up. Ohio State kept its biggest game-changer in Justin Fields, while the Nittany Lions lost theirs in Micah Parsons. Home is no advantage in this case, and the timing creates little warm-up for Kirk Ciar- rocca's new offense to keep pace. The rest all look like Penn State wins to me.............................. PREDICTION 7-1 PHIL GROSZ Before the coronavirus created major problems with the Big Ten schedules, many Penn State fans thought the 2020 football season was the Nittany Lions' chance to challenge Ohio State for the Big Ten East Division crown, earn a spot in the league champi- onship game and maybe even claim a berth in the College Football Playoff. Even with Micah Parsons opting out in order to prepare for the 2021 NFL Draft and Penn State playing just a nine- game, all-Big Ten schedule, I don't think anything has changed. The Nittany Lions have to beat Ohio State at Beaver Stadium on Oct. 31 and then go on the road to beat Michigan on Nov. 28. We'll know soon enough whether the Lions are up to the challenge, because their schedule is front-loaded. After opening on the road Oct. 24 against In- diana, they will welcome Ohio State to Beaver Stadium on Oct. 31. This will be the Nittany Lions' game of the year. I think this is Penn State's moment. The Lions will upset Ohio State, go unde- feated and make it to the Big Ten Cham- pionship Game............ PREDICTION 8-0 MATT HERB I appreciate my colleagues' optimism, and I share it, to a degree. But I also feel compelled to point out that it's been more than a decade since Penn State has beaten Michigan and Ohio State in the same season. James Franklin hasn't done it, Bill O'Brien didn't do it, and Joe Paterno did it only twice, most recently in 2008. Obviously, this year isn't going to be like any of those previous Big Ten sea- sons, and past results are going to have even less predictive power than usual. We don't know for sure whether all of these games are even going to be played. Given the speed with which COVID out- breaks seem to flare up, particularly on large college campuses where social dis- tancing guidelines aren't being univer- sally followed, I don't think any of us would be shocked if some Big Ten teams ended up playing fewer than their eight allotted regular-season games. Also, Beaver Stadium is going to be empty this fall, depriving the Lions of a major asset. The quiet atmosphere might not matter in some games, but it will most certainly matter when Ohio State visits. The White Out crowd is worth a few points, and the Lions could ab- solutely use them. This will essentially be a neutral-site game, and I see the Buck- eyes leaving with a victory and going on to play for the Big Ten championship. I can't help but think that there's another loss lurking somewhere in that schedule, but optimism feels like a rare indulgence these days, so I'm going to err on the side of positivity.................. PREDICTION 7-1 RYAN SNYDER If Penn State is going to reach the College Football Playoff this year, two things have to happen. Beating Ohio State is the obvious one. The Buck- eyes return one of the nation's top of- fensive units, but they have to replace key pieces on defense. I think we're going to see a shootout Halloween night. But I also believe Penn State has to play all eight scheduled games if it wants a shot at making the CFP. There won't be any wiggle room this year, and you know the Southeastern Conference is going to have two schools right there at the end. I do believe that Penn State will play all eight games and the plus-one during Champions Week. I have faith in the antigen testing. However, it's hard for me to predict an undefeated season. All it takes is for a few key players to test positive one week to turn everything up- side down.....................PREDICTION 7-1 S T A F F P R E D I C T I O N S with a slate that looks to be one of the toughest in the conference. The Nittany Lions' previous schedule featured crossover games against Northwestern, Illinois, Nebraska and Iowa. The new slate eliminates the Wildcats and Illini, two teams that went a combined 9-16 last season, and keeps the Cornhuskers and Hawkeyes. Nebraska has been in a rut lately, and the Lions aren't going to have a hostile crowd ready to greet them in Lincoln. But this still looks like a very dangerous game in a place where Penn State hasn't won since 1981. As for the divisional games, much at- tention has been paid to Penn State's week two matchup vs. Ohio State, which could end up being a season-defining game. In a normal year, it would take place before a roaring White Out crowd. But because the Big Ten isn't allowing fans to attend games (Penn State has even forbidden tailgating on campus), the atmosphere will be subdued. The Nittany Lions also drew a poten- tially worrisome opponent for their opener. Indiana has played them tough throughout the James Franklin era, and while it hasn't won any of those six games, three of them have been decided

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