2008 Penn State Nittany Lions College Football Predictions Courtesy of Alex Smart, An Expert College Football Handicapper featured on Touthouse.com. If you are betting college football this year, be sure to buy Alex Smart’s college football picks each week and guarantee a winning season!!

Penn State Nittany Lions (9-4, 4-4 in 2007, 5th place in Big 10)
2007 was a mildly disappointing year for Penn State, especially in Big 10 play. After making a New Year’s Day bowl game the previous two seasons, the Nittany Lions had to settle for an Alamo Bowl bid last year.

Offensive Outlook: The Nittany Lions are returning everyone but their starting backfield from 2007. However, they must replace starting QB Anthony Morelli and their RB duo of Rodney Kilyaw and Austin Scott. Morelli was never accepted by Nittany Lion faithful after his self-destruction in the 2006 Ohio State game. Expect to see Daryll Clark and star recruit Pat Devlin have a close battle for the starting job and Paterno to keep a short leash on the starter. The RB position will be a lot easier to replace as Evan Royster showed a lot of promise with his workload last season. The WR corps also returns intact led by the much heralded Derrick Williams. If the quarterback play is there, this should be one of the top three offenses in the Big 10.

Defensive Outlook: “Linebacker U” is finally back to its’ former status after the spectacular college careers of Paul Posluszny and Dan Connor. Sean Lee had looked to be ready to take over the reigns from Connor this season but tore his ACL in the spring and will miss the entire 2008 season. Losing Connor and Lee means that the highly recruited underclassmen (Chris Colasanti and Bani Gbadyu) are going to have to step up this season. If the inexperienced linebackers can fill their shoes, this unit will be the second best in the Big 10.

2008 Outlook: Penn State should cruise through their non-conference slate before beginning Big 10 play in earnest by facing Illinois, Purdue, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio State over the next five weeks. Needless to say, this five game stretch will make or break the Nittany Lions season. Their success, or failure, will ultimately tell us if they can reach another New Year’s Day bowl game or if they’ll again finish in the middle of the pack in the conference. The schedule makers also did Penn State no favors by leaving Big 10 creampuffs Northwestern and Minnesota off the Nittany Lions’ schedule for the second straight season.

2008 will be a success if… The Nittany Lions can make it back to their third New Year’s Day bowl game in the last four seasons and record double digit wins in 2008. However, with a daunting Big 10 schedule, this will be difficult to do.

IF the quarterback position can be aptly filled and IF the young LB corps can do what is needed, Penn State will have an outside chance to contend for the Big 10 title and a BCS at-large berth.

Prediction: 10-2, 2nd place in Big 10

If you enjoyed this article then you may be interested in:

1. 2007 Penn State Nittany Lions: Picks, Predictions & Odds
2. Free NCAA Pick: Wisconsin Badgers vs. Penn State Nittany Lions Picks & Odds
3. Penn State vs. Texas A&M: Alamo Bowl Free Picks: December 29th
4. 2008 Ohio State Buckeyes College Football Predictions
5. 2007 Big Ten Conference Football Predictions & Picks
6. 2008 Detroit Lions NFL Football Predictions
7. 2008 Mississippi State Bulldogs College Football Predictions