Big Season Ahead for Penn State?

Penn State had one of the quietest 11-2 seasons in recent memory. Their two losses were to Ohio State and Michigan (two playoff teams). Outside of those two games they seemed to quietly dominate everyone including a 14-point win over Utah in the Rose Bowl.

The Nittany Lions will likely have to replace key players in just 4 positions heading into next season and they have already started to address one of them through the portal. Parker Washington and Mitchell Tinsley accounted for 97 catches for over 1,000 yards and 7 touchdowns last season and they will both be moving on to the NFL. Candidates to step up from within the program will be Keandre Lambert-Smith (24 rec / 389 yd / 4 td) and Harrison Wallace (19 / 273 / 1). However, Penn State has already attacked the portal and added one of the best wideouts available. Over the past two seasons, Dante Cephas out of Kent State has racked up 130 receptions for nearly 2,000 yards and 12 touchdowns. Cephas should step right in as a WR1 caliber player next season.

The Sean Clifford era is finally done and in steps Drew Allar. The former 5-star recruit had plenty of hype this season and Penn State fans have been clamoring for him. He will get his shot to live up to the hype and lead a Penn State program that is poised for big things.

The last position on offense that will be pivotal to replace is at center. Juice Scruggs will be moving on to the NFL and he started every single game this past season.

Defensively, the main area of concern is the secondary. Two key players, Joey Porter Jr. and Ji'ayir Brown are off to the NFL. They have both talented and experienced options to replace Porter Jr. at cornerback and have also added UNC transfer Storm Duck as well. Penn State also has some young talented options to attempt to replace Brown at safety. Jaylen Reed saw action in 13 games and will likely get the first crack. Kevin Winston, Mehki Flowers, and Christian Driver are three other true freshmen to see action this past year as well.

The 2023 schedule features a very favorable non-conference schedule. West Virginia had a down year and is not really headed in the right direction as a program. Delaware and Umass should be no problem for the Nittany Lions either.

Like always, Michigan and Ohio State will be the two main obstacles. In theory, they will have almost 3 weeks to prepare for the Buckeyes with a bye week and UMass in the two weeks leading up to Ohio State. They will have a sneaky road tilt against Maryland the week before Michigan. Taulia Tagovailoa just announced he will be returning as well for the Terps.

Other than that Penn State will have to deal with a bit of a defensive gauntlet two weeks in a row with Illinois and Iowa.

Overall it is a rather favorable schedule and gives them a solid chance for a one-loss season and a potential playoff shot.

Over at Fanduel, Penn State currently has 20/1 odds to win the 2023 National Championship. The 10th best odds in the country.