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Penn State Football: Mid-season portion of schedule will be Nittany Lions’ key to 2018

By Barry Leonard Jr.

GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 30: (L-R) Grant Haley #15, Nick Scott #4, head coach James Franklin, Marcus Allen #2 and Troy Apke #28 of the Penn State Nittany Lions walk out to field arm in arm before the start of the second half of the Playstation Fiesta Bowl against the Washington Huskies at University of Phoenix Stadium on December 30, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. The Nittany Lions defeated the Huskies 35-28. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 30: (L-R) Grant Haley #15, Nick Scott #4, head coach James Franklin, Marcus Allen #2 and Troy Apke #28 of the Penn State Nittany Lions walk out to field arm in arm before the start of the second half of the Playstation Fiesta Bowl against the Washington Huskies at University of Phoenix Stadium on December 30, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. The Nittany Lions defeated the Huskies 35-28. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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Penn State football will face a tough stretch of conference games that will make or break the season

College football coaches will say that every game in a season is important, and that’s absolutely true, especially in college, but there’s no denying that some games carry more weight than others. If Penn State wants to have success in 2018, it is going to have to navigate a touch stretch of games that fall right in the middle of the season.

Opening games against Appalachian State, Pittsburgh and Kent State will all be important, but the Nittany Lions shouldn’t have too much trouble getting through that stretch unscathed. After finishing the non-conference part of the schedule, Penn State will travel to Illinois during Week 4 to take on the Illini and start the Big Ten Conference portion of the schedule.

After likely starting the year with an undefeated record of 4-0, Penn State will enter a stretch of games that will determine how far the Nittany Lions go in 2018.

September 29 is a date that’s definitely circled on the calendar. Not only is it the annual White Out, but the Ohio State Buckeyes will be in town. Penn State and Ohio State have been battling at the top of the conference the last two seasons, and that shouldn’t change this year.

Following the home clash with the Buckeyes, things won’t get any easier. Penn State gets a bye the first week of October before hosting Michigan State on October 13. The Spartans dealt the Nittany Lions a crushing defeat last year that essential put them out of any chance for a Big Ten title.

Penn State will head on the road the following week to take on a pesky Indiana team. Bloomington has been a tricky place for the Nittany Lions to play in recent years, especially if it’s an early start time.

The final three games of the tough stretch will be a brutal gauntlet of top conference foes. Home games with Iowa and Wisconsin are sandwiched around a trip to Ann Arbor to face Michigan. All three of those opponents are expected to be some of the best in the Big Ten.

Fortunately for the Nittany Lions, the season concludes with Rutgers and Maryland.

Next: Penn State Football: Is 2018 McSorley's year?

Head coach James Franklin and his coaching staff will have to work hard to guide the Nittany Lions through the tough mid-season part of the schedule. However, if Penn State can successfully navigate through those games, then 2018 could be a very special one in Happy Valley.

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