6 reasons the Penn State Football beats Indiana
By Brad Weiss
6 reasons the Penn State Nittany Lions beat Indiana
Penn State returns 17 starters
While Penn State is missing two key pieces to the puzzle, one on each side of the ball, there is still a ton of familiar faces returning. The defense will be without linebacker Micah Parsons, who many believe will be the first defensive player off the board in the 2021 NFL Draft, as he decided to opt out of the 2020 college football season due to the pandemic.
On offense, the Nittany Lions will not have Journey Brown this week, and possibly all year as he deals with a medical issue. We will get into that later on, and while he was a player who could have very well been in the Heisman discussion this season, the offense has enough firepower to put up points at will in 2020.
Overall, Penn State returns 17 starters from last season, ten on offense, four on the defensive side of the ball, and three on special teams. In total, they also return 39 letter-winners, giving head coach James Franklin a core of players that he knows he can rely on in big situations, something that will loom large against Indiana.
Tight end Pat Freiermuth and defensive end Shaka Toney were both second-team All-Big Ten last season, and they both should be in for big years in what will likely be the last season in Happy Valley for both. Toney is a fifth-year senior, while Freiermuth is a first round prospect, and they, along with quarterback Sean Clifford, are the unquestioned leaders of this team.