Blue White Illustrated

A T T H E 2 0 1 7 N I T T A N Y L I O N S work in even the most rugged of the Power Five conferences, and it nearly worked well enough to earn the Nittany Lions their first Rose Bowl victory since 1995. There may have been some grum- bling about the play-calling late in the game after the Lions managed only 14 yards and one first down on four fourth- quarter possessions. But any game in which you score 49 points is a game you ought to win. So the question for the Nittany Lions going forward is not whether their ap- proach is going to change during the off- season, but whether their upcoming opponents will be better equipped to stop them than they were in 2016, or at least better able to keep pace the way the Trojans did. Penn State's most anticipated noncon- ference game, a matchup with Pitt in week two, got a lot more interesting re- cently when the Panthers signed Max Browne as a graduate transfer. Browne had been USC's quarterback at the start of the 2016 season before losing the po- sition to Sam Darnold. That worked out pretty well for the Trojans, less well for Penn State. We'll find out in September whether any of Darnold's magic rubbed off on his former teammate. Ohio State made an even bolder move when it hired former Indiana head coach Kevin Wilson as offensive coordinator. The Buckeyes are coming off a 31-0 loss to Clemson in the College Football Play- off semifinals and are eager to get their downfield passing game humming again, having slipped the past two years. While with the Hoosiers, Wilson over- saw a spread offense that ranked ninth in the country in 2013 and 14th in 2015. Now he's going to be working with Ohio State's talent. For the Buckeyes' Big Ten East Division rivals, that's a worrisome thought. There are other concerns, of course. While Michigan's graduation losses were massive, it will have half a season to get its two-deep put back together before traveling to University Park in October. Michigan State cratered in 2016, but is anyone expecting the Spartans to go 3-9 again? Didn't think so. In the cross-di- visional portion of the schedule, Penn State is holding onto Iowa while ex- changing Purdue and Minnesota for Northwestern and Nebraska. And there's this: Because 2017 is an odd-numbered year, the Lions will only get four Big Ten home games instead of the five they got this past season. But for the first time in years, you get the feeling that the Lions can match up with everybody they'll face. Doesn't mean they'll beat everybody they face, but they look as though they'll have a shot in every game, even that visit to Columbus on Oct. 28. S I T E L I N E S B W I . R I V A L S . C O M R E A D E R S S O U N D O F F JAMES FRANKLIN Steve Manuel As long as it is not a rough off-season, I think it is safe to say that PSU will start [the 2017 season] in the top 8. They got a lot of good press from the loss at USC. They showed they are not the typical Big Ten team in that they have the speed to match up with the "elite" college football teams. The bigger question is, how will PSU respond to success and the lofty expectations? I think this is a very good, grounded team, and it should not be an issue. However, sometimes the higher expectations and the posi- tive press can do crazy things to a team. Chester Copperpot As much as losing the Rose Bowl at the last second sucked, it gave the team further confidence that they can play with anyone in the country, and it will make them hun- gry to work harder in the off-season. I could see the way the game ended being a pos- itive for the 2017 season. The players and the coaches will learn a lot from the way the game ended, and hopefully this game will help the team next year when a similar sit- uation presents itself and a national championship is on the line. CampbellLION The Rose Bowl did more for our national brand than can be measured right now. Huge ratings across the country and tons of positive press this week. Barkley just put himself on the Heisman Trophy short list, and most experts agree that this season was no fluke. Brazillm10 I always say that winning masks your faults. You lose and never want to taste de- feat again. You work harder on getting better. You study more. You are more focused. I think Penn State next year could be lights out, and this will only help. mbar21 I also see this game and the way it played out as a win-win for us. If a recruit likes an exciting style of O, come here. If you want to get on the defensive side of the field early, come here 'cause we have some serious needs in the back end. CentrevilleLion

• Cover