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This one jumped right out to me as i was looking at the totals. Lots of things i like here.
First off PSU brings back QB Hackenburg to start this year. He had some good games last year with this Penn State team and learned how to keep himself calm in the pocket as the year progressed. He did manage to throw for 2,955yds & 20td's. His completion % was rather low but that will pick up this year without question. If he can stay upright and healthy this will prove to be a great asset this year and ahead.
Running back Zwinak is a pretty good running back. He was just shy of 1,00 yards and avg 4.7 ypc. Penn State has a stable of running backs this year and they have young legs that will prove to be dangerous. This team will be very balanced on offense. One big loss for this team was the departure of WR Allen Robinson. He was the passing game last year for the most part.
The WR & TE. Wide outs are young and will struggle early on. TE combo and packages with the depth they have may be the top TE group in the country. This will help Hackenberg and the run game may benefit from 2 TE sets as well.
The defense is your trademark PSU defense they will make it hard for teams to just score on them. The weakness for PSU and i think they can and will improve it the secondary. They did allow over 25ppg on avg last year but i expect that to drop around 20ppg.
The real concern is O-Line. They are below average athletes and will struggle this year. Sure they can pull themselves together as a unit, but i feel dealing with some great defensive lines in the Big 10 will be the sour spot with this Nittany Lions team.
I think the move to James Franklin this year will give this team some added motivation as well.
This is why i love this play. The schedule. PSU has only 4 road games. @ Rutgers @ Indiana @ Michigan @ Illinois. I think they can go 3-1 on the road this year. They get 8 games at home this year....and to make the deal even better. 3 sets of the home games are back to back. Also they get a bye week before they head on the road to Michigan which will be a huge help...Then after Michigan another bye week before they take on Ohio St @ home. You cant ask for a better schedule. This sets up great for PennState.
**My gut says they win 8 games rather easy. The last 6 games they can go on a 3-4 or 5 game winning streak. I think they finish 9-3 this year...Only losses come against...Ohio St...Mich St...and Michigan and i give that a 50-50 game.
TT 7.5 over -150
Play Penn State Over 7.5 -150