Joe Paterno is back for another year at Penn State, his 44th season as head coach for the Nittany Lions. Paterno has seen thousands of student athletes come in and out of College Park as part of 383 wins.
And this year, the most popular man to ever step foot onto the Penn State campus looks to be on his way to another 10-win season despite losing much of last year’s Big 10 Championship team.
The primary reasons why they should be able to be have another successful season are the reliable combination of the strong talent the Nittany Lions have to replace their secondary and wide receiving corps, and an incredibly weak schedule.
Penn State should win its first three games by a combined margin of 100 points as they face Akron, Syracuse, and Temple in consecutive weeks and then get to run all over Eastern Illinois later on.
Should the Nittany Lions will bring home a second consecutive conference championship, they’ll get another crack at the PAC 10 conference in The Granddaddy of Them All, on New Year’s Day.
They will be able to reach this goal with another stellar season from their veteran backfield which includes quarterback Daryll Clark, who is returning for his senior season and running back Evan Royster who turned heads with a break out season last year.
However, Clark’s three favorite targets are all gone. The trio of Deon Butler, Derrick Williams and Jordan Norwood made Clark’s and Paterno’s jobs much easier last year, but the Penn State faithful are confident their replacements will quickly step up in the offensive system.
One of the replacements will be sophomore Derek Moye — who at 6-feet-5-inches, won state championships in high school in 200-meter dash. Also, trying to boost the Penn State offense will be sophomore receiver Chaz Powell. Moye and Powell combined for only five receptions and 108 yards in their redshirt freshman years.
On defense, the Nittany Lions will be missing their top defender from last year and their entire secondary who will not return for the 2009 season.
Defensive end Aaron Maybin was drafted 11th overall and will be strongly missed by his teammates. Maybin had 12 sacks in 2008, and the fans in College Park are hoping that Jack Crawford will be able to come in as a sophomore and continue to give opponents the strong pass rush that Penn State has traditionally had.
All of the defensive backs from 2008 are gone, which means trouble for Penn State. Fortunately for them, the Big 10 is not too deep at the quarterback position.
An entirely new crew in the secondary will need some help from returning linebackers Navarro Bowman and Sean Lee. Bowman was Penn State’s leading tackler last year and Lee is coming off a knee injury which forced him to miss all of 2008.
To add to the losses on offense and defense, Penn State will also be without their reliable place kicker Kevin Kelly, who is being replaced by a walk-on who has yet to play a college football game.
Team name: Penn State Nittany Lions
Head coach: Joe Paterno
Conference: Big 10
2008 record: 11-2
Players to watch:
- Daryll Clark — Senior — QB
2008: 2592 passing yards, 59.8 completion percentage, 19 passing touchdowns, 282 rushing yards, 10 rushing touchdowns.
Clark is another one of the dual threat quarterbacks who can get the job done with both his arm and his feet. - Navorro Bowman — Senior — LB
2008: 106 tackles, 4 sacks, 1 interception.
Bowman returns as the leading tackler from 2008 for Penn State and will be expected to be the leader of a defense replacing its entire secondary.
Game to watch: Nov. 11 vs. Ohio State
This game should be the closest thing to a Big 10 Championship this year as the Buckeyes come into College Park looking for a little revenge from last year’s defeat in Columbus.
The word on Penn State:
A weak schedule should enable the Nittany Lions to win at least 10 games. Daryll Clark at quarterback and Evan Royster at running back should make up most of the offensive production, but an inexperienced secondary come between Penn State and a chance at the BCS Championship.
