Penn St Nittany Lions 2022 College Football Preview
July 26, 2022
2021 Recap
Record – 7-6
ATS – 7-6
Penn St jumped out to a 5-0 start that included an entertaining win over Auburn (W 28-20) and they had a ten-point lead over Iowa in game six when all of the sudden, the season took a unexpected turn to TURD TOWN. The Nittany Lions lost five of their final seven regular season games including a nine-OT (!!) defeat at the hands of mighty Illinois. Arkansas whooped them 24-10 in the Outback Bowl, a 660,000 star MEGALOCKS MONKEYPOX ELIMINATOR SUPER LOCK winner. That dropped Penn St to 7-6, and 11-11 since the start of the 2020 SCAMDEMIC season.
Penn St Nittany Lions 2022 Outlook
OFFENSE
Penn St did some good damage thru the air LY (269 YPG, #26 FBS) but did JACK SQUAT on the ground (108 YPG, #118). 3,000-yard QB Sean Clifford is back for his senior season but he’ll be without elite WR Jahan Dotson (1,182, 12 TD LY) who’s off to the NFL. Everyone else of consequence returns at WR/TE including Parker Washington (64, 820, 4 TD) and they made a yuuuge scoop thru the transfer portal by bagging star WR Michael Tinsley (1,402, 14TD!) from WKU. They’ve gotta find a #1 RB to balance things out and get better play from an offensive line that paved the way for just 3.2 net YPC and allowed 34 sacks (last Big Ten) in 2021. Maybe true freshman RB Nicholas Singleton is the answer? This offense looks eerily similar on paper to what we saw LY but hopefully they can find more balance.
DEFENSE
The defense did very well holding the opposition’s scoring down (17.3 PPG, #6 FBS) but they still allowed 152 YPG on the ground (#10 Big Ten) and registered a mediocre 27 sacks (#8 Big Ten). They were very solid vs the THROW GAME (#3 Big Ten pass efficiency D, 11-14 TD to INT). There might be trouble on the horizon as the Nittany Lions lost an impossible FIVE defensive players to the NFL draft and return just four starters. It’s hard to project how good these guys will be on defense given that they’ll have to rely upon a lot of youngsters to step up and contribute right away. We feel optimistic given Penn St’s history on defense and the fact that they have a lot of highly-recruited specimens on the roster. The secondary looks solid with CB Joey Porter and safety Ji’Ayir Brown leading the way but they’ll need to kick the pass rush up a notch.
SPECIAL TEAMS
RUH ROH. This could be a problem area as they lose PK/P Jordan Stout as well as dangerous PR Jahan Dotson.
Schedule Analysis
Overall – Things get REAL in a hurry as they open with a Big Ten road game (at Purdue) and go on the road to face Auburn (!) just two weeks later. They have a good draw from the West (Gophers, Cats).
Potential ATS Trouble Spot – September 24 – Central Michigan
This a dreaded sandwich spot (Auburn, Northwestern) and we expect FIRE UP CHIPS to be one of the better teams in the MAC.
Season Win Total
per BetOnline July 27
Over 8.5 +105
Under 8.5 -135
MEGALOCKS says:
Lean: Under
This team doesn’t look like a killer. The majority of our 78 models project eight wins and believe they’ve got a slightly better shot of winning seven games than nine.
MEGAmazing Tidbits
Penn St went 45-11 at home from 2012-2019 but are just 7-5 in Beaver Stadium since the start of the 2020 PLANDEMIC season.
James Franklin’s only decent ATS roles appear to be as home chalk (24-19-2, 56%) and in non-conference play (18-12, 60%). That passes the smell test given that some folks think he’s a jerk and a bully **.
** easy, Karen. We said ‘some’ folks.
MEGALOCKS Outlook:
This team looks to be a clear notch below Ohio St and Michigan. We don’t have a ton of confidence in them being able to operate a balanced offense (RB/OL) but have a gut feel the defense might uncover another star or three and be better than advertised. James Franklin’s game management in close games is also a bit sketchy. We’ll call for eight wins and a decent bowl game.
Want more Penn St football ?
WEBSITE
https://gopsusports.com/sports/football
FORUM
http://pennstate.247sports.com/Board/Penn-State-Nittany-Lions-Message-Board-Forum-18
https://247sports.com/college/penn-state/Board/Audibles-Board-102698/
https://www.roarlionsroar.com/forum/penn-state-football
https://bwi.forums.rivals.com/forums/the-lions-den.18/
NEWS
http://www.blackshoediaries.com/
http://www.pennlive.com/pennstatefootball/
http://www.statecollege.com/penn-state-page/sports/
https://www.espn.com/college-football/team/_/id/213/penn-state-nittany-lions