Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/703041
7-5: Losses to Pitt, Michigan, Ohio State and Michigan State and a loss to someone else we should not lose to. I could realistically see 6-6 more than I can see 8-4. People who are predicting nine or 10 wins are going to be disap- pointed, I think. I hope I am wrong, but I've always thought that this year would be the worst of the sanction years, and next year we would start trending back up. DamonEagles 8-4: The team takes a step forward. Start year 4-2, losing to Michigan and Pitt. Go 4-2 after the bye with one upset of Ohio State, Iowa or Michigan State. I feel like this is realistic, and unless we get bit badly by the injury bug, we won't finish with fewer than eight. If the ball bounces the right way, nine wins hap- pen. Maca54 8-4: Losses to Ohio State, Michigan and two others (Michigan State/Iowa/Pitt and a slip-up some- where). Win a bowl game for a 9-4 final record. cdfetterman 8-4: Losses to Pitt, Michigan, Ohio State and Michigan State. There will be early-season struggles, but we will win one against a ranked team late in the year vs. Iowa or Michigan State. (Right now I like Iowa at home.) Breeze90 9-3: Fourth in the Big Ten East with losses to Michigan, Ohio State and Michigan State. Going with pie-eyed optimism. henrymale 9-3: 10-3 with a bowl win. Why? Why not? I have no choice but to be opti- mistic until I see the product on the field. We're due, and I like the pieces we have in place offensively. Maybe this year we avoid the injury bug. MarkPSU 9-3: We lose to Michigan, Ohio State and a slip-up somewhere. I think we beat Iowa and Michigan State. AFRich 10-2: Moorhead's offense will turn out to be as advertised! We have the best group of skill position players in the Big Ten. The offensive line is experienced, and the zone blocking in the spread sys- tem will allow them to excel. The de- fense will be top three or four in the Big Ten, as long as we stay healthy at line- backer and defensive tackle. cp4psu 9-3: Losses to Ohio State, Michigan State and Michigan. Hopefully no major injuries derail this season. mike.kemp75 5-7 or 6-6: As usual, losses to Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State, a hiccup loss to Iowa and MAYBE Min- nesota. And bad losses to Pitt and Tem- ple. Gonna be ugly. I don't really see our defense being like that typical Penn State dominating defense we're used to seeing. We're gonna have a hard time against the run. Offensively, it'll be dif- ferent, but being different and actually being better are two different things. Don't know if it'll be much better. Long story short, I'm not getting my hopes up much. I remember back in the day when I was younger about five or six years ago, I would always have my hopes up for Penn State to be a Big Ten title con- tender every year. And every time I had my hopes up for them, it always ended up being a big letdown. Plus, I'm not sold on Franklin either. psbowhunter 10-2: It will require a lot of things go- ing our way: a healthy starting QB all season long (70-plus percent comple- tions) and one or two young offensive linemen stepping up to provide good depth… our bevy of talented RBs com- plementing our bevy of talented WRs for ball control… our defense led by a healthy trio of talented linebackers, backed up by an army of defensive backs improving their team play, specifically their interception numbers… at least one true frosh special teamer giving our young defense better field position than in the past… a dynamic new offense scoring 35-38 points per game, further reducing pressure on the defense, as we beat everyone we should and upset two of the four current powerhouses. No- body sees it coming, but as happens from time to time, a perfect storm forms over central Pa. This one will last at least three or four years. BobE What do you think the Lions' record will be in 2016? P R E V I E W W E B S U R V E Y Sophomore running back Saquon Barkley and junior wide receiver Chris Godwin are among the candidates for the Maxwell Award, which is presented to the national collegiate player of the year by the Maxwell Football Club. The two Nittany Lion offensive standouts enjoyed breakout seasons in 2015, with Barkley totaling 1,076 rushing yards and scoring seven touchdowns (seven rushing, one receiving) as a true freshman and Godwin finishing with 1,101 receiving yards and five scores. … Junior linebacker Jason Cabinda is a nominee for the Bednarik Award and the Lott IMPACT Trophy, both of which go to the nation's top de- fensive player. Cabinda led the Lions with 100 tackles as a sophomore. … Jun- ior Mike Gesicki is among the candi- dates for the John Mackey Award, which is given annually to college football's most outstanding tight end. As a sopho- more, he had 13 catches for 125 yards and a TD. In 2014 he was named to the BTN.com Big Ten All-Freshman team. ■ AWARDS WATCH