Blue White Illustrated

August 2022

Penn State Sports Magazine

Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1472993

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 19 of 115

2 0 A U G U S T 2 0 2 2 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 1. Lions Look To Run You're tired of hearing about it. Players and coaches are definitely tired of hearing about it. Nevertheless, when you tie for 12th in the Big Ten in rushing yards per carry (3.2) as Penn State did last season, people are going to talk. This is the team's biggest question mark on either side of the ball in 2022. 2. Sean Clifford Returns Is there a more experienced quarterback in the Power Five this year than Clifford, a sixth-year senior with 33 starts to his credit? He's seen it all in the past three seasons, and he'll be looking to bookend his career with the kind of season he enjoyed as a redshirt sophomore in 2019, when he ranked third in the Big Ten in pass efficiency (148.5) as a first-year starter. 3. Mike Yurcich Returns, Too Having your offensive coordinator back for a second season might seem more like an expectation than a luxury, but it hasn't happened at Penn State since 2019, Ricky Rahne's second and final year overseeing the offense. 4. Freshmen Brace For Impact All eyes will be on running back Nick Singleton, and probably with good reason. Still, there are nu- merous additional members of the Lions' seventh- ranked 2022 recruiting class who could conceivably make big impacts this year, including Singleton's fellow ball carrier, Kaytron Allen. 5. Manny Diaz Brings The Heat Penn State's new defensive coordinator wants pressure, and lots of it. That could be a problem, because the Lions don't have an abundance of re- turning productivity at defensive end. The arrival of Maryland transfer Demeioun "Chop" Robinson and five-star freshman Dani Dennis-Sutton could help. — Matt Herb 1. Ohio State | Oct. 29 It's the Buckeyes, need we say more? Actually, we probably should say more, because this season marks the first time since 2009 that Ohio State's visit to Beaver Stadium has not been designated a White Out game. Maybe that's for the best; the Buckeyes have served as Penn State's White Out opponent five times, and the hosts have only won two of those games. 2. at Auburn | Sept. 17 Jordan-Hare Stadium has served as the home of Auburn football since 1939, yet this will be the Nittany Lions' first visit. That alone makes this a fun matchup, especially for the legion of PSU fans who will be trekking to a place on the college football map that many have probably never visited before. 3. Minnesota | Oct. 22 Somebody had to get the White Out treatment this year, and if it wasn't going to be Ohio State, Minnesota was as good a choice as any. P.J. Fleck's team has rowed its boat to the upper reaches of the Big Ten West standings. Three years ago, the Gophers sunk a torpedo into PSU's College Football Playoff hopes with a 31-26 victory in Minneapolis. The Nittany Lions haven't forgotten. They'll have a chance to even the score on Oct. 22, though it's possible that Min- nesota offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca will have a score of his own to settle after lasting just one season in Happy Valley as the Lions' OC. 4. at Michigan | Oct. 15 Got a bad feeling about this one, not gonna lie. While the Nittany Lions won their most recent game at Michigan Stadium, prevailing 27-17 two seasons ago, the Wolverines were a mess during the COVID year. They're not a mess now. Penn State has gone 4-8 in Ann Arbor over the years. That history bodes poorly for the visitors. Still, it's Michigan, it's the Big House, and the stakes could very well be high for both teams. This game has got to be on the list somewhere. 5. at Purdue | Sept. 1 Every season opener is a mystery box, this year's game more so than most. Is Purdue's offense still as good as it looked when it ranked second in the Big Ten in passing last year? Is Penn State's offense still as listless as it looked during a late-season swoon that led to six losses in the team's final eight games? We won't have to wait long to start getting our answers. — Matt Herb M O S T A N T I C I P A T E D G A M E S Third-year sophomore running back Keyvone Lee will try to rev up the Nittany Lions' ground game after leading the team in rushing last year with 530 yards. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL S E A S O N S T O R Y L I N E S Penn State's comeback attempt fell short in a 31-26 loss to Minnesota in 2019. The two teams will meet again when PSU welcomes the Gophers for this year's White Out game on Oct. 22. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Blue White Illustrated - August 2022