Penn State Football vs Purdue: causes for concern for the Nittany Lions

Penn State Football kicks off their season is just two days, and although the Nittany Lions are favored over Purdue, there are still a couple causes for concern heading into the week one matchup.

Let’s jump right into them.

Cause for concern #1 – depth/turnover on defense

There is plenty of talent on this Penn State Football defense, but there has been a lot of turnover from a year ago as seven key contributors have moved onto the NFL.

Though I expect this defense to have a great year, is there a chance that some of the young and inexperienced players are overwhelmed on the road against a Purdue offense that has a chance to be explosive?

Along with inexperience, could players such as Adisa Isaac and Hakeem Beamon who have not played a snap since 2020, as well as Mustipher who missed the second half of last season, take a little while to settle in and knock some rust off?

As for the depth, this is only really a concern at linebacker. The Boilermakers likely won’t run the ball too often, but being as thin as the Nittany Lions are on the second level is still a red flag.

Cause for concern #2 – the offensive line

I, for one, am optimistic that the offensive line will be better in 2022, but until they prove that they’re not a liability, most fans will remain skeptical.

There’s really not much to this one.

If the offensive line in fact has not improved and doesn’t give Sean Clifford enough time to throw and they don’t open holes for running backs, it could be a long night.

This will remain a weekly concern for fans until proven otherwise.

If the offensive line plays well, there is enough talent at all other spots on both sides of the ball that not many teams in the country could beat the Nittany Lions.