By Brian Heinemann
For The Herald
Penn State enters the 2010 football season having to do something no team has ever done before – play three BCS bowl winners from the previous year, all on the road.
All three of those teams – Alabama, Iowa and Ohio State – will likely be ranked in the Top 10 to start the season. The Nittany Lions have some questions that need to be answered quick if they have any hope of taking down the defending champion Crimson Tide, the first of the three they’ll play.
“The Alabama team's a good football team, if not the best team around,” Coach Joe Paterno said. “But I think it's a good game for us. It's a good game early. I have a young team. Obviously we've got some growing up to do.
“And I think to be able to go with a bunch of kids and go down there and play the defending national champion on the road before a very hostile crowd, I think it would be a good experience. We'll be a better football team for it.”
The biggest area of concern is at quarterback, where Penn State has to replace it’s all-time touchdown leader in Daryll Clark. A sophomore will likely win the job, either former walk-on Matthew McGloin or Kevin Newsome, but both are nearly-unknown commodities.
They still have a stingy, dominating defense that ranked No. 9 nationally last year and some key weapons for whichever quarterback wins the job to play with in running back Evan Royster and wide receivers Derek Moye and Graham Zug.
It’s the youth and the inexperienced players that will determine what happens this season, though, and for that reason I’ve pegged Penn State as the fifth-best team in the Big Ten, a drop-off from the last few years.
“I don’t really know what to expect. We’ve got some young guys that we think can really come in and play, though,” Royster said. “Our season really relies on them, more so than our older guys. We’re filling some pretty important spots that we lost this last year. I think we feel pretty confident going into the season, but at the same time, we really don’t know.”
Penn State Nittany Lions
Last year: 11-2, 6-2 Big Ten (tied for second)
Lettermen returning/lost: 36 returning, 21 lost
Starters returning/lost: offense 7/4, defense 5/6, kickers 1/1.
Key returning starters: Evan Royster, TB, Sr.; Derek Moye, WR, Jr.; Drew Astorino, HERO (safety/linebacker), Jr.
Others to watch: Graham Zug, WR, Sr.; Kevin Newsome and Matthew McGloin, QBs, So’s.
By the numbers: 3 - the number of BCS Bowl winners Penn State has to face on the road this year. 24 - regular season games in a row Penn State has held its opponent to 24 or fewer points. 481 - yards Royster needs to become the school’s all-time leading rusher.
Schedule: After a Sept. 4 tune-up with Youngstown State, Penn State travels to Alabama to face the defending BCS champions Sept. 11. Dates with Kent State and Temple separate that game from a road trip to Iowa Oct. 2, followed by four straight the Lions should be favored in. A visit to Ohio State Nov. 13 is the big late season game, although a home game with Michigan State to close the season Nov. 27 could have big bowl-placement implications.
Reason for optimism: Royster’s return, the defense. Evan Royster’s return provides a huge boost for a team with several glaring holes on offense and gives them a solid back to lean on all year while they figure out the quarterback position. The defense finished ninth in the nation and second in conference last year, and should be nearly as strong in 2010.
Reason for pessimism: Quarterback uncertainty and the road schedule. Penn State doesn’t have a quarterback right now, and neither option, Newsome or McGloin, stands out. Couple the inexperienced quarterbacks with an unheard-of road schedule, and you have a recipe for disaster.
Bottom line: Getting to double-digit wins again is going to be a chore for the Nittany Lions, who will struggle to win at least one of their big three road games. Going undefeated at home isn’t out of the question, but some questions marks, particularly quarterback, make this a down year – albeit a likely top-five finish in conference – for Penn State.
Tomorrow – No. 4: Michigan, Rodriguez set for major turnaround
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