Penn State Nittany Lions
Head coach: James Franklin
2014 Record: 7-6 overall; 2-6 Big Ten
2014 Bowl: 31-30 OT win over Boston College at Pinstripe Bowl
2015 Returning Starters: offense 7, defense 7
Odds to win 2016 CFB Championship: +18000
Odds to win 2015 Big Ten Title: +2500
Regular Season Wins: Over 8 (1.690); Under 8 (2.15)
Bet these prop bets at 5dimes and receive a 20 percent deposit bonus!
Christian Hackenberg is hoping for a return to his successes that preceded last season when he threw 12 TD and 15 INTs. As a sophomore he was 20-10, but a lot of it has to fall on the shoulders of a weak offensive line.
Nittany Lions QB Christian Hackenberg was sacked 44 times last season and was often rushed in the pocket, which led to the interceptions at the rate at which they were seen.
The Nittany Lions have six linemen back in the fold, however, which should improve his prospects this season. The WRs are DaeSean Hamilton, Chris Godwin and Saeed Blacknall, all of whom saw good time in 2014. Hamilton caught 82 passes to lead the league. In the backfield the Lions have last seasons leading rusher in Akeel Lynch, along with four freshman of high caliber.
Given that the offense returns so many players, the cast is due for a lot of internal improvement. The Lions closed the season with losses at Illinois and Michigan State, but the contest against the Illini really should have been a victory. The Lions had the worst field position margin in the Big Ten at -2.6 yards and the bad kicks as well as poor return coverage hurt the team all season. The return team will rely on Joey Julius to return kicks but Chris Gulla will be in the mix for the catches too. The Lions punting was poor last season and have two squaring off for the duty.
Look at comparing sportsbooks here.
Defensively, the Lions are very strong at tackle with Austin Johnson and Anthony Zettel. Johnson is enormous (6’4” 325) and helped the defense rank No. 3 nationally against the run. Zettel had 17 tackles for loss last season and eight sacks while also tying the team lead in interceptions (3). The Lions are going to hurt at middle linebacker where it lost the Big Ten tackle leader of last season in Mike Hull.
Junior Nyeem Wartman is a good OLB and along with Brandon Bell and Jason Cabinda on the outside rounds out an otherwise strong LB corp. The secondary returns three starters and looks to be a strength of the ‘D.’ Marcus Allen has been billed highly by defensive coordinator Bob Shoop. At FS the Lions will use Jordan Lucas who played two years at CB. Grant Haley will step in at CB with Trevor Williams, a return specialist, at the other corner.
Check college football lines here!
The Lions now have substantial depth on the roster and a good bit of experience on the OL. The team is still woefully youthful up front, but with only one senior in the projected two-deep, but the line will be better than last year probably.
The defense having seven starters and already having established itself as the best defense in the Big Ten bodes very well for PSU. The team lost six games last year but only two were by more than a TD, so the defense will keep the Lions in games. Hackenberg will have to revert to what he was, but with a better OL there is every reason to believe that is exactly what happens.
The Lions turn just three of those four losses into Ws, and it would have finished with a 10-3 overall record. That likely won’t happen this year either, but the Lions should be good for the eight wins projected by 5dimes, with neither the over nor under being a particularly attractive proposition. PSU begins the season with a schedule at Akron, Rutgers and UMass— but it faces Northwestern, Michigan and Ohio State to kick off its Big Ten schedule and the Lions will need to win two of those three games to be en route towards exceeding any expectations.
Projected Wins: 8
Check out purchasing our 2015 Winning Pick Plan for NCAA Football!
