Penn State Nittany Lions: CFN College Football Preview 2021

College Football News Preview 2021: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Penn State football season with what you need to know.

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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Penn State Football Schedule Analysis
– Penn State Nittany Lions Previews
2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015

2020 Record: 4-5 overall, 4-5 in Big Ten
Head Coach: James Franklin, 8th year, 60-28 (84-43 overall)
2020 CFN Final Ranking: 56
2020 CFN Preview Ranking: 8
2019 CFN Final Ranking: 5

Penn State Nittany Lions College Football Preview 2021: Offense

– The Nittany Lions spent 2020 trying to figure it all out. There were WAY too many turnovers, nothing about the attack was particularly special, and as mediocre as things seemed to be …

Penn State was still second in the Big Ten in total offense.

As awful as things were for the team after the worst start in the history of Penn State football – but, of course, not the worst year for this program by a gajillion miles – James Franklin and his staff are still good at fixing glitches. This year, it starts with those turnovers – more on that in the Keys To The Season – and that begins with getting a big year out of …

– The quarterbacks. More specifically, the season might come down to whether or not Sean Clifford is great at college football. He’s got the 6-2, 220-pound size, the mobility to be solid on the move, and when he’s on, he’s got the upside to be a difference-maker.

Backup Will Levis is now a Kentucky Wildcat and Micah Bowens left for Oklahoma – it’s a thin group behind Clifford. Ta’Quan Roberson is a dangerous prospect who could add a spark.

The receiving corps has a star in Jahan Dotson – leading the way with 52 catches for 884 yards and eight scores – and it has a rising playmaker in sophomore Parker Washington, who finished second on the team with 36 grabs for 489 yards and six scores. It’s a young corps behind the top two, but there’s a whole lot of talent.

The tight end situation takes a hit with Pat Freiermuth now a Pittsburgh Steeler, but Brenton Strange caught 17 passes and 6-6, 250-pound Theo Johnson is promising.

– The offensive line has to be stronger. The Nittany Lions were a disaster in pass protection and the ground game averaged a pedestrian 174 yards per game. The tackles are exceptionally talented – Rasheed Walker and Caedan Wallace have NFL upside – but again, there were too many sacks given up.

The interior is the problem with the starting three likely to be locked in after fall camp. Senior Mike Miranda will get a spot somewhere – probably center after working at guard – but give this group time.

The running backs are fantastic. Keyvone Lee is a slimmed-down 220-pounder who led the way with 438 yards and four scores.

Baylor transfer John Lovett should be a big play factor right away, and 2019 season-leading rusher Noah Cain is back after missing most of last year. Throw in former star recruit Devyn Ford, and this group is deep and dangerous.

– What You Need To Know: Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Penn State Football Schedule Analysis

NEXT: Penn State Nittany Lions College Football Preview 2021: Defense

Penn State Nittany Lions College Football Preview 2021: Defense

– Everyone was missing someone important in 2020, but the defense could’ve desperately used the all-around talent of new Dallas Cowboy Micah Parsons.

The linebackers will be just fine. They won’t do anything splashy, but 235-pound Ellis Brooks and 251-pound Jesse Luketa are big hitters who stop the run – they finished 1-2, respectively, in tackles.

They’re for the inside, and Brandon Smith is the one who has to make big things happen on the outside after leading the team with eight tackles for loss. Coming in is great-looking freshman Curtis Jacobs to go along with a slew of other possibilities, and the Nittany Lions have plenty of strong options to play around with.

– In case you haven’t heard – because Baltimore Ravens fans don’t bring it up enough – Jayson Oweh didn’t come up with any sacks last year. Forget the stats; the first rounder was a factor defenses had to deal with. He’s gone, and leading sacker Shaka Toney is on the Washington Football Team.

Getting pass rusher Arnold Ebiketie from Temple is a huge help, but hybrid 6-4, 248-pound Adisa Isaac has the bigger upside after showing glimpses of something big last year.

The ends will be fine and the tackles will be strong despite the loss of Antonio Shelton to the Florida Gators. 6-4, 323-pound PJ Mustipher is a very good, very big veteran on the inside who does all the dirty work – he made 35 tackles – and in comes Derrick Tangelo from Duke to provide an NFL-caliber option inside.

– Super-senior Tariq Castro-Fields only played in three games last year, but he’s an all-star caliber lock down corner on one side. 6-2, 195-pound Joey Porter made 33 tackles last season and didn’t pick off any passes, but he’s one of the several experienced options to work into the mix on the other side.

Jaquan Brisker was the team’s third-leading tackler with 57 stops with a pick and six broken up passes. He’s back at one safety job for a super-senior season, and the combination of seniors Jonathan Sutherland and Ji’Ayir Brown have been around long enough to be okay in the mix.

– What You Need To Know: Offense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Penn State Football Schedule Analysis

NEXT: Penn State Nittany Lions College Football Preview 2021: Top Players

Penn State Nittany Lions College Football Preview 2021: Top Players

Best Penn State Nittany Lions Offensive Player

WR Jahan Dotson, Sr.
The senior deep threat has been making big things happen from the start of his career. He’s got the speed to keep pushing secondaries, but he also took his game up a few notches as a go-to receiver with a team-high 52 catches for 884 yards and eight scores.

He’s not huge and he’s not all that physical, but the 5-11, 184-pounder can move, averaging over 17 yards per catch. Now he needs the ball in his hands even more.

2. OT Rasheed Walker, Jr.
3. C/OG Mike Miranda, Sr.
4. WR Parker Washington, Soph.
5. RB John Lovett, Sr.

Related

Penn State Football Schedule 2021: Analysis, Best and Worst Case Scenarios

Best Penn State Nittany Lions Defensive Player

S Jaquan Brisker, Sr.
The former JUCO transfer stepped into the 2019 defense and made 31 tackles with two picks in his first season, and last year he started to take over with 57 stops with three tackles for loss and an interception with five broken up passes.

He’s 6-1, 204 pounds and can get all over the field – he’s an emerging NFL prospect who should work his way into a top 50 pick.

2. LB Brandon Smith, Jr.
3. CB Tariq Castro-Fields, Sr.
4. DT PJ Mustipher, Sr.
5. DE Arnold Ebiketie, Sr.

Top Incoming Penn State Nittany Lions Transfer

RB John Lovett, Sr.
Penn State was already crazy-deep at running back, and then it added a four-year producer who ran for over 1,800 yards and 17 touchdowns for Baylor. He can catch, he has a home run burst, and he’s got the ability and potential to rise above the pack and be a dangerous force who makes the most of his 7-to-11 touches per game.

– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Keys To The Season
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Penn State Football Schedule Analysis

NEXT: Penn State Nittany Lions College Football Preview 2021: Keys To The Season

Penn State Nittany Lions College Football Preview 2021: Keys To The Season

Penn State Nittany Lions Biggest Key: Offense

The turnovers mattered. This hasn’t been an air-tight program with the ball under James Franklin, but the 17 turnovers last season were a problem.

It was more about the team’s overall rhythm than anything specific, but yeah, it mattered that the Nittany Lions were -9 in turnover margin over the five-game losing streak to start the season and +1 over the four-game winning run to end the campaign.

Yes, the defense had a role in this by only coming up with four takeaway over the first four games – and only four picks on the season – and the offensive line’s issues in pass protection were a huge deal. But things changed once the offense cleaned things up a bit, especially with the passing game.

The O gave up eight interceptions over the five losses and just one the rest of the way. Going back to the beginning of the 2015 season, Penn State is 2-8 when throwing multiple picks and 0-4 over the last two years.

Penn State Nittany Lions Biggest Key: Defense

Crank up the pass rush again. Not having Micah Parsons and Yetur Gross-Matos around was a big part of the problem, and Jayson Oweh went from a five-sack guy in 2019 to a bagel in 2020, but the defense as a whole didn’t get the job done.

The 21 sacks in nine games weren’t awful. That was good enough to finish fifth in the Big Ten in sacks per game, and the increased pressure mattered late in the year. However, for this program, averaging 2.33 sacks per outing is very, very light.

It was the lowest per game sack total since 2013. That was the last year the Nittany Lions averaged fewer than seven tackles for loss per game, too – they came up with just 6.56 last season.

Penn State Nittany Lions Key Player To A Successful Season

QB Sean Clifford, Sr.
It’s been an interesting ride for the 6-2, 220-pounder from Cincinnati.

Trace McSorley was done in 2018, and it was supposed to be Tommy Stevens’ gig to take over. It wasn’t, Stevens left for Mississippi State, and Clifford went from lightly-used backup to the main man in 2019.

He was solid. 59% completion rate was light, but he threw 23 touchdown passes, just seven picks, and he ran for five scores.

Last year he ran well enough to get by, but he had interception problems early, the big plays weren’t always there, and he struggled over the first half of the season.

He found his groove late, hit a whole lot of mid-range throws before going off on Illinois in the season finale, and now the entire season rides on the senior’s shoulders.

Penn State has the skill guys in place to do something big, but without a lot to count on among the backup quarterbacks, it’s Clifford or bust.

Penn State Nittany Lions Key Game To The 2021 Season

at Wisconsin, Sept. 4
It’s not a division game, and the road dates at Ohio State and Michigan State – along with the home dates with Indiana and Michigan – are massive, but after the way last year started, a win in Camp Randall would be a huge deal.

Penn State lost to Indiana in a controversial thriller to kick off the rough 2020 season, and while there won’t be another 0-5 start with a loss – Ball State and Villanova will be wins – the Auburn, Indiana, and Iowa games in the first half of the year will loom large if there’s another 0-1 start.

2000 and 2001 was the last time Penn State started two straight seasons with losses.

By the way, Penn State won four straight against the Badgers with the last loss a 45-7 blasting in 2011.

– Penn State Football Schedule Breakdown & Analysis

2020 Penn State Nittany Lions Fun Stats

– Time of Possession: Penn State 33:41 – Opponents 26:19
– Fumbles: Penn State 10 (lost 8) – Opponents 9 (lost 5)
– 2nd Quarter Scoring: Opponents 97 – Penn State 64

NEXT: Penn State Nittany Lions College Football Preview 2021: What Will Happen, Season Prediction

Penn State Nittany Lions College Football Preview 2021: What Will Happen, Season Prediction

I’ll say it. The Nittany Lions got hosed in the loss to Indiana to open the season.

The Hoosiers were down 35-34 in overtime, went for the win on a two-point conversion attempt, and QB Michael Penix came up just short of the goal line. The officials got it wrong – all personal opinion, sort of – called Penix’s try good, and Penn State lost.

It shouldn’t have come to that.

1) Turnovers were a problem early, 2) up 21-20, Devyn Ford didn’t go down at the one in the final moments, 3) the coaching staff whiffed by not going for two after Ford scored a touchdown – with just over a minute to play and up 27-20, there was a chance to end it right there – 4) the D that gave up fewer than 100 yards of total offense over the first 58:30 allowed 75 and a touchdown in the last 90 seconds, and 5) a two-point conversion to force overtime, and 6) PENIX REALLY WAS DOWN, and …

It sparked the worst start to a Penn State football season since it started playing in 1889.

There’s no dogging the loss to Ohio State a week later, but to get rocked by Maryland, to lose to a bad Nebraska team, and then to get hammered 41-21 at home to Iowa was more than just not getting over a loss to Indiana.

The season was over five games in, and in embarrassing fashion.

The point? The team started with a painful gut punch, was playing poorly in a gimmicky Big Ten season, and at 0-5 the responsibly safe thing might have been just to pack it in and gear up for 2021.

But James Franklin’s team came back hard, going on a four game winning streak to close things out.

Granted, beating Michigan, Rutgers, Michigan State and Illinois last year was no big whoop, but the Nittany Lions were historically bad, and yet they came back from that start to beat all four by double-digits.

Call it a character-builder going into 2021.

Set The Penn State Nittany Lions Regular Season Win Total At … 9

This year’s team might not have a whole lot of obvious star power, but it’s deep, it got a few excellent and needed parts from the transfer portal, and whatever happens football-wise, it’s not going to be as tough as having to get up for a road trip to Michigan after an 0-5 start.

The games at Wisconsin, Iowa, and Ohio State will probably screw up any dreams of winning the Big Ten title, and home dates against Auburn, Michigan and Indiana don’t help, but this team is going to be a whole lot better – it’ll win its share of those six showdowns.

It’ll get out to a better start, it should finish strong, and it’ll come up with several big wins along the way.

After 2020, 2021 is going to be a whole lot easier.

– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Keys To The Season
– Penn State Football Schedule Analysis