Penn St Nittany Lions 2017 NCAA Football Preview

College Football Predictions – Penn St Nittany Lions 2017 NCAA Football Preview

2016 Recap

2016 Record – 11-3

2016 ATS – 11-3

Yes, guy.

Penn St rattled off nine straight wins to end the regular season and finished up with an excellent record of 11-3. They did lose the Rose Bowl in heartbreaking fashion to USC (52-49 final) but provided many exciting moments during the campaign including wins over Ohio St and Wisconsin in the Big 10 Championship. It was their first double-digit win season since 2009. They are back, yo.

2017 MEGALOCKS Opening Power Rating

Big 10 – TBD

East Division – TBD

OFFENSE

You wanna talk about the straw that stirs the drink ? Enter QB Trace McSorley. All he did last season was throw for over 3,600 yards and 29 TDs while rushing for another 7 scores. Last year’s leading WR Chris Godwin is gone but they still bring back a solid WR corps and an excellent receiving TE in Mike Gesicki (48-679, 14.1, 5 TD). Penn St was 3rd in the Big 10 in passing offense last season and should have similar success MATRICULATING down the field in 2017.

The hits keep on coming. Penn St boasts one of the best RBs in college football in Saquan Barkley who rushed for almost 1,500 yards last season and 18 TDs. That performance allowed him to achieve 3rd Team AA status. The offensive line returns 4/5 starters and has excellent size across the board. Penn St averaged 38 points per game last season (#3 Big 10) and we anticipate another explosive season.

DEFENSE

The Penn St defense was up and down last season in terms of performance and finished up ranked 8th in the Big 10 in total defense (368 YPG). They did bag 40 sacks (#2 Big 10) but lose 3/4 top sack men from the 2016 stop unit. We feel the defense will be solid with good size on the DL, experience at LB and last season’s leading tackler S Marcus Allen (no – not THAT Marcus Allen) back in the fold. We think they will perform closer to the level of the 2015 and 2014 teams when it comes to points per game allowed (21.8, 18.6; 25.4 in 2016).

SPECIAL TEAMS

The kicking game looks to be in really good shape as they boast one of the best placekickers around in Tyler Davis who made 22/24 (!) FGs last year. P Blake Gillikin was solid averaging over 42 yards per punt. The starting return men are both back.

Potential ATS Trouble Spot

November 4 – at Michigan St. This game follows their toughest two-game stretch of the season (Michigan, Ohio St) and they will almost certainly be road favorites in this one. And we all know that Sparty is most dangerous when the expectations are low. Beware, yo.

MEGAmazing Tidbits

Last season marked the 3rd time in the last five seasons that Penn St ended the regular season with a win over the Badgers.

Star RB Saquon Barkley had a rushing TD in every game last season except for two – Michigan and Ohio St.

MEGALOCKS ATS Value Rating (10) 6.5

MEGALOCKS says:

Overall, we give the NITTANY LIONS a 6.5 ATS Value Rating (Above Average) this season.

This team feels like the real deal. The offense is going to be one of the best in the Big 10 and the defense should among the top four. How will that translate into point spread victories ? Hard to say. We do know that this team can beat anyone on their schedule and also have the ability to destroy the weaker competition. The value vs Vegas may get sucked out of them early if they open up on SUPAH HOT FIRE, but overall, we think they are team worth considering every week.

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