Guys I'm sorry that I haven't been a contributor here in the Lions Den since I posted my "Key Matchups" update on Monday regarding Saturday's game against Temple here in the Lions Den.
I had a minor setback and had several doctors appointments the last two days that will force me to watch Saturday's game against Temple here in my home on my 55-inch Samsung Smart TV. That being said, I want to thank my entire staff for keeping everyone so well informed about tomorrow's game in my unexpected absence.
Personally from what I'm hearing, I believe there is an excellent chance there could be a number of Lions Den members surprised with the performance Penn State puts together at Lincoln Financial Field against Temple tomorrow. Don't get me wrong I'm not projecting a Penn State blowout of Temple tomorrow, but if what I'm hearing from people I talk with close to the program on a regular basis Penn State's performance, particularly on offense, could prove to be much more consistent then it seems most people here in the Lions Den think might be possible.
In my mind the only way Temple's offense is capable of putting more than 10 points on the scoreboard is if Penn State ends up handing Temple's offense the ball with a series of turnovers in its end of the field. I can't see any matchup Temple's offense will be able to exploit that will enable the Owls' offense to consistently put its offense in the Red Zone with excellent scoring opportunities.
Last season Temple had the 86th ranked rushing offense and the 115th passing offense in the country. People may disagree with my next statement, but I firmly believe Penn State's defense has the opportunity to become better than it was last season when the Nittany Lions had the No. 2 overall ranked defense in the country at the FBS level, even with Penn State's defense losing big-time performers like Adrian Amos, Deion Barnes, Mike Hull and C.J. Olaniyan.
There is definitely a solid and reasonable chance I'll be proven wrong that the biggest improvement Penn State fans will see from the Nittany Lions' offense will come from the offensive line. I honestly believe Penn State's offensive line has the capability of duplicating its performance it enjoyed in the Pinstripe Bowl against Boston College, which entered that game with the 12th ranked defense in the country. In that game Penn State totaled 25 first downs, 453 yards of total offense and Christian Hackenberg had one of his top two performances of last season completing 34 of 50 passes for 371 yards with 4 TDs and zero interceptions.
If Penn State's offensive line puts together a duplicate performance of what it accomplished in the Pinstripe Bowl against Boston College, Hackenberg and Company will win this game 27-10. That's my prediction for tomorrow's game against Temple. What's yours?
I had a minor setback and had several doctors appointments the last two days that will force me to watch Saturday's game against Temple here in my home on my 55-inch Samsung Smart TV. That being said, I want to thank my entire staff for keeping everyone so well informed about tomorrow's game in my unexpected absence.
Personally from what I'm hearing, I believe there is an excellent chance there could be a number of Lions Den members surprised with the performance Penn State puts together at Lincoln Financial Field against Temple tomorrow. Don't get me wrong I'm not projecting a Penn State blowout of Temple tomorrow, but if what I'm hearing from people I talk with close to the program on a regular basis Penn State's performance, particularly on offense, could prove to be much more consistent then it seems most people here in the Lions Den think might be possible.
In my mind the only way Temple's offense is capable of putting more than 10 points on the scoreboard is if Penn State ends up handing Temple's offense the ball with a series of turnovers in its end of the field. I can't see any matchup Temple's offense will be able to exploit that will enable the Owls' offense to consistently put its offense in the Red Zone with excellent scoring opportunities.
Last season Temple had the 86th ranked rushing offense and the 115th passing offense in the country. People may disagree with my next statement, but I firmly believe Penn State's defense has the opportunity to become better than it was last season when the Nittany Lions had the No. 2 overall ranked defense in the country at the FBS level, even with Penn State's defense losing big-time performers like Adrian Amos, Deion Barnes, Mike Hull and C.J. Olaniyan.
There is definitely a solid and reasonable chance I'll be proven wrong that the biggest improvement Penn State fans will see from the Nittany Lions' offense will come from the offensive line. I honestly believe Penn State's offensive line has the capability of duplicating its performance it enjoyed in the Pinstripe Bowl against Boston College, which entered that game with the 12th ranked defense in the country. In that game Penn State totaled 25 first downs, 453 yards of total offense and Christian Hackenberg had one of his top two performances of last season completing 34 of 50 passes for 371 yards with 4 TDs and zero interceptions.
If Penn State's offensive line puts together a duplicate performance of what it accomplished in the Pinstripe Bowl against Boston College, Hackenberg and Company will win this game 27-10. That's my prediction for tomorrow's game against Temple. What's yours?
