Blue White Illustrated

T he predictions for Penn State's 2014 record are all over the place. Athlon's preseason football magazine gave the Nittany Lions a chance at posting a 10-2 record and had them ranked 22nd in its preseason poll. Lindy's Preseason Football Annual placed the Nittany Lions fourth in the Big Ten East with a 7-5 mark. Phil Steele only gave the Nittany Lions a score of =ve in his power ratings, but he has been thoroughly impressed with James Franklin since he became Penn State's head football coach on Jan. 11. Despite that low power rating, Steele predicted Penn State would post eight wins this fall. Except for yours truly, BWI's sta> isn't calling for Penn State to win more than seven games this fall. Nate Bauer, Matt Herb, Tim Owen and Ryan Snyder each projected a 7-5 record. Contributor Lou Prato believes the Nittany Lions might have di?culty posting a 6-6 record. In our season preview magazine, I picked Penn State to =nish 8-4 this sea- son. That prediction is predicated in part on how I see the schedule shaping up. I believe the Nittany Lions have a chance to go undefeated in their nonconference games against UCF, Massachusetts, Akron and Temple. It they're able to do that, they would only need to break even in their Big Ten games to post eight vic- tories. With conference games upcoming against Rutgers, Northwestern, Mary- land and Illinois, I believe that is a realis- tic expectation. The Northwestern game is noteworthy in that the matchups have changed since early July when BWI's sta> made its picks. Heading into the summer, a lot of people were citing the Wildcats as a team on the rise. They were coming o> a disappointing 5-7 season in which they lost seven of their last eight games, but they were welcoming back Venric Mark, an All-Big Ten running back in 2012 who missed last season with ankle and ham- string injuries. But Mark recently announced plans to transfer from Northwestern, and the Wildcats su>ered another blow when they lost potential All-Big Ten wide re- ceiver Christian Jones to a season-end- ing knee injury. Without those two play- ers, Northwestern will have a much harder time escaping Beaver Stadium with a victory when it faces Penn State on Sept. 27. Although some optimists are calling for nine or 10 wins, I believe an 8-4 record will be a very nice achievement for James Franklin and his sta>. Here's a position- by-position look at what needs to happen for that projection to become a reality. QUARTERBACK I was caught by sur- prise when Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com picked Christian Hack- enberg to be the Big Ten's O>ensive Play- er of the Year. "Hackenberg amazes me for (a) honoring his commitment despite 'you know what,' and (b) staying when Bill O'Brien le@," Dodd wrote. "The last time Franklin had a quarterback this good, he was tutoring future NFLer Josh Freeman at K-State. Hackenberg will thrive under their new coach." Will Hackenberg throw for 3,000 yards this fall? That might be di?cult following the departure of All-Big Ten wide receiver Allen Robinson. But if Penn State is able to =eld a balanced of- fense – and is able to protect him in the pocket – Hackenberg will de=nitely show why he is the best pro-style quar- terback in the Big Ten. WIDE RECEIVER The Lions obviously su>ered a big loss here in the o>-season, but the wideouts – redshirt sophomore Eugene Lewis, redshirt junior Matt Zanellato, redshirt freshman DaeSean Hamilton and true freshmen Saeed Blacknall, Chris Godwin and De'Andre Thompkins – can't enter the season thinking they have to replace Robinson. Balance is the key here. It appears that Lewis and Hamilton will start as the out- side wide receivers. Lewis is the team's most experienced returning wideout, and Franklin has spoken highly of Hamilton's performance in preseason camp. If those two positions are settled, the coaches can focus on =nding a consis- tent third receiver. There's certainly plenty of talent on hand, as was evident when Godwin made the highlight play of Penn State's Aug. 9 scrimmage by haul- ing in a 40-yard touchdown pass. One catch does not mean that Godwin has claimed the spot; there's plenty of competition, with Zanellato, Blacknall and Thompkins also vying for playing time. Those battles will only help PSU down the road. TIGHT END Even with sophomore Adam Breneman possibly out for the season, Penn State has the best group of tight ends in the Big Ten. Jesse James is a rising star. Kyle Carter has the talent to duplicate what he did as a freshman in 2012 when he caught 36 passes for 453 yards. Factor in a healthy Brent Wilker- son and a talented newcomer in fresh- man Mike Gesicki, and you have the makings of a very strong unit. The big question is whether these guys can block e>ectively. They certainly can catch the football, but with Penn State set to =eld an inexperienced o>ensive line, the tight ends will need to play a role in controlling the line of scrimmage. RUNNING BACK Zach Zwinak, Bill Belton and Akeel Lynch provide Penn Eight victories are possible this season. Here's what needs to happen PHIL'S CORNER

• Cover