Victory Bell Rings
Fansided

Penn State Football: 5 bold predictions for Nittany Lions 2021 season

By Nick Kreiser

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - OCTOBER 19: Sean Clifford #14 of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrates a touchdown run during the second quarter against the Michigan Wolverines on October 19, 2019 at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - OCTOBER 19: Sean Clifford #14 of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrates a touchdown run during the second quarter against the Michigan Wolverines on October 19, 2019 at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 5
Next

Penn State Football kicks off the 2021 regular season in less than a week against Wisconsin, which means it is time for some bold predictions for the Nittany Lions’ campaign 

After last season, some Penn State Football fans would argue that predicting a 9-3 campaign would be considered bold, but if you look at this team under a metaphorical microscope, that may not be the case.

This Penn State Football team has plenty of talent to be able to break records, win awards, and win a lot of football games.

Here are five bold predictions for Penn State Football’s 2021 season, with the opener at Wisconsin less than one week away: 

#5 – Penn State Football has Two Running Backs Eclipse 500 Yards

It is no secret that Penn State Football has a deep and talented running back room this season.

The Nittany Lions will definitely use a “by committee” approach, primarily rotating between three to four backs.

Penn State Football has not had two running backs each surpass the 500 yard mark in the same season since 2014 season with Akeel Lynch and Bill Belton. Even the two seasons with both Saquon Barkley and Miles Sanders on the roster it did not happen, primarily because Barkley was the feature back who saw most of the carries.

This season, I fully expect Noah Cain and Keyvon Lee (who I expect to be the primary two backs) to be able to accomplish that feat.

In 2019, Cain rushed for 443 yards, despite only reaching double digit carries in three games that season. Last season, Lee rushed for 438 yards and did not see a ton of carries until the final four games of the season. Both of those seasons were each guy’s true freshman campaign, and they will have a better offensive line this season than in either of those two seasons.

Do Devyn Ford, John Lovett, and Caziah Holmes also have the potential to possibly surpass 500 yards in a single season if given enough carries? Yes, however there are not that many carries to go around, and I expect Noah Cain and Keyvon Lee to get the majority of the carries this season.

If Cain and Lee each get at least 95-100 carries this season, both of them will finish with north of 500 rushing yards for the 2021 campaign.

Home/Penn State Football