Penn State Football: Reasons for worry ... and optimism in second half

Penn State Football: Reasons for worry … and for optimism in second half of season

IOWA CITY, IOWA- OCTOBER 9: Injured quarterback Sean Clifford of the Penn State Nittany Lions watches backup quarterback Ta'Quan Boberson #2 get loose during the second half against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium on October 9, 2021 in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images) /

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Joey Porter Jr. #9 of the Penn State Nittany Lions (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

Reason to Worry – Penn State Football’s Difficult Schedule

Perhaps the biggest cause for concern in the second half of this Penn State Football schedule is their schedule. Through 6 weeks, the Lions’ final 6 regular season opponents have a combined record of 26-11.

Here is a further breakdown of the second half schedule;

Illinois (2-5) is the only opponent that currently has a losing record
2 opponents currently undefeated (Michigan and Michigan St)
3 of the final 6 games are on the road
3 opponents currently ranked within the AP top 10 (Ohio St, Michigan, Michigan St)
2 of those 3 ranked matchups are one the road
The final 5 games are against fellow Big Ten East teams

If not for such a grueling schedule, some of the previous reasons to worry would not be as big of an issue for the Nittany Lions.

The silver lining to all of this, though, is that when the Nittany Lions take care of business over the next month and a half, they will have one of the best resumes in the country when the College Football Playoff selection rolls around.

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