Pregame Predictor: PSU vs. Eerie Indiana
Well, that was quite the offseason wasn’t it, Nittany Nation? A once in a lifetime occurrence for sure (fingers crossed and heads bowed), even for all the old-timers that have bled blue and white for oh-so-long. Eerie doesn’t even begin to describe it, yet here we are. No fans, masks up, and keep those home tailgates socially distanced. It is hard to believe it, but Penn State football 2020 is nearly here! It took a little longer for me to feel my heart beating stronger as it usually does so close to another kickoff, but, I’m really starting to savor the thought of pacing the floor with real, live Nittany Lions battling it out in front of me on T.V.
It has been a long time coming and it’s a new season ripe with questions. No more KJ or YGM (no names needed). Micah opted out, and Journey’s heart suddenly takes precedence over everything else. Despite that, we still have Shaka Toney on a mad dash like he has wings on his cleats and Antonio Shelton pounding his chest after every mission accomplished. Big ‘Muth shredding would-be tacklers like Mad Max, and Sean Clifford back for an encore. We have a fresh, new Offensive Coordinator whose reputation to sling the ball around we all saw with our own eyes a year ago.
We have depth bursting at the seams, a pair of fleet-footed additions to the Lawn Boyz; one of whom has finally grabbed the famed #26 again, three years post-Saquon. We have a ton of fresh new faces blended in with just enough of the grizzled vets to think about playoff expectations. By the way, did I mention we have Gameday tomorrow? On the road, at Indiana no less. I won’t lie, at first glance of the new(est) schedule, all focus immediately turned to what awaits Halloween night in Happy Valley and a date with you-know-who. Indiana was mistakenly an afterthought for a few days until it hit me, those Hoosiers have put up a fight lately.
I was there in person to see the 34-27 nail biter at home last year. I remember the fits they gave us in Bloomington back in 2016 before a scary-late fourth quarter Brandon Bell scoop and score preserved our run for the Roses. In 2013, we LOST to those pesky Hoosiers! Need I say more? They were an eight-win team in 2019 and are returning most of their squad, including a guy named Whop Philyor on offense who’s is likely NFL bound. Last year, their backup QB torched our secondary for over 380 yards in our own Beaver Stadium. Let us not forget their second-year coach, Tom Allen, who seemingly has them on the uptick. In short, nothing comes easy when it comes to eerie Indiana lately, but after all it took to get to this point, my heart rests firmly on the shoulders of our mighty Nittany Lions: Penn State 37, Indiana 12.
It has been a long time coming and it’s a new season ripe with questions. No more KJ or YGM (no names needed). Micah opted out, and Journey’s heart suddenly takes precedence over everything else. Despite that, we still have Shaka Toney on a mad dash like he has wings on his cleats and Antonio Shelton pounding his chest after every mission accomplished. Big ‘Muth shredding would-be tacklers like Mad Max, and Sean Clifford back for an encore. We have a fresh, new Offensive Coordinator whose reputation to sling the ball around we all saw with our own eyes a year ago.
We have depth bursting at the seams, a pair of fleet-footed additions to the Lawn Boyz; one of whom has finally grabbed the famed #26 again, three years post-Saquon. We have a ton of fresh new faces blended in with just enough of the grizzled vets to think about playoff expectations. By the way, did I mention we have Gameday tomorrow? On the road, at Indiana no less. I won’t lie, at first glance of the new(est) schedule, all focus immediately turned to what awaits Halloween night in Happy Valley and a date with you-know-who. Indiana was mistakenly an afterthought for a few days until it hit me, those Hoosiers have put up a fight lately.
I was there in person to see the 34-27 nail biter at home last year. I remember the fits they gave us in Bloomington back in 2016 before a scary-late fourth quarter Brandon Bell scoop and score preserved our run for the Roses. In 2013, we LOST to those pesky Hoosiers! Need I say more? They were an eight-win team in 2019 and are returning most of their squad, including a guy named Whop Philyor on offense who’s is likely NFL bound. Last year, their backup QB torched our secondary for over 380 yards in our own Beaver Stadium. Let us not forget their second-year coach, Tom Allen, who seemingly has them on the uptick. In short, nothing comes easy when it comes to eerie Indiana lately, but after all it took to get to this point, my heart rests firmly on the shoulders of our mighty Nittany Lions: Penn State 37, Indiana 12.
