Penn State Football: 10 reasons Nittany Lions can win the Big Ten in 2021
Penn State Football had a disappointing 2020 season going 4-5, however, there is reason for optimism heading into next fall.
Athletic Director Sandy Barbour called last season’s 4-5 record “disturbing” when meeting with the media a few weeks after year’s end.
Disturbing is one way to describe a season that started with Penn State Football ranked in the top-10 in the country and quickly turned to the program’s first 0-5 start in it’s history.
It looked –and felt — like rock bottom for head coach James Franklin’s squad. However, four straight victories to close out the season gave Penn State Football a different feeling, one of which they finally figured it out and looked more like the team we expected to see coming into the season.
Franklin called this a “critical” offseason, and has shown a sense of urgency with bringing in five players through the transfer portal, a new offensive coordinator and multiple coaching staff changes.
The final four games of the season mixed with a busy offseason has built a sense of momentum going into 2021 campaign.
Let’s take a look at 10 reasons why Penn State Football can win the Big Ten in 2021:
10. Fans back at at Beaver Stadium (Hopefully)
It is no secret that Penn State Football has one of the best home field advantages in the country, boosted by it’s annual “White Out.”
The Nittany Lions went undefeated at home in 2019, however last season was a much different story, where they lost their first three games in State College and ended up going 2-3 on their home field.
We should see a return to some type of normalcy by next fall and may even see a a full Beaver Stadium when they host Ball State in week 2. Getting fans back in the bleachers and having that environment back in Happy Valley will do wonders for Penn State Football.
Last season’s game with Ohio State was humbling to watch in front of a few hundred instead of what would have been almost 110,000. This year, week 3 against Auburn would be a good time to get the “white out” back at Beaver Stadium.