Penn State leads area teams into 2017 season with hope
Nittany Lions lead the list of area college football teams with most promise
Penn State will start the 2017 campaign ranked in the top 10 nationally after a breakout season that saw them beat Ohio State and win the Big Ten Championship. Of course, the expectations in Happy Valley are high because quarterback Trace McSorley and running back Saquon Barkley — both Heisman Trophy candidates — are back but in all the nine starters on offense return.
Wide receiver Chris Godwin, the only Nittany Lion to get drafted in 2017, is a key loss among the playmakers while the offensive line returns 87 career starts with center Brian Gaia the notable loss.
On defense, six starters are back (with 15 starters back in total, the Nittany Lions are the most experienced Big Ten team). Safety Marcus Allen and linebacker Jason Cabinda are expected to lead the defense.
They were hit hard by graduation on the line, losing the top two pass rushers in Evan Schwan and Garrett Sickles but what they lose in starters they make up for with experience three of the four projected starters are upper classmen while George Washington High School graduate Shareef Miller, a redshirt sophomore who was the MVP of the 2017 Blue-White Game, could emerge as a star as a defensive end. Like the line, the linebacker corp has a lot of playing experience because the unit suffered so many injuries last year.
The defensive backfield lost two players to graduation and John Reid, of St. Joseph’s Prep, to injury.
The key to Pen State’s season will be two weeks in October when they play Michigan and Ohio State in back-to-back weeks. They host the Wolverines then go to the Columbus to face the revenge-minded Buckeyes, who will be coming off of a bye, on October 28.
Prediction: The Nittany Lions will fall short of a league title and the College Football Playoffs but will be in another big-time bowl game.
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Temple saw the core of its 2016 AAC championship team and two-time division winning team graduate. Three players were drafted (Haason Reddick, Nate Hairston and Dion Dawkins) also gone are quarterback Phillip Walker, running Jahad Thomas and several other players who are getting looks from the NFL this summer (eight 2016 Owls are in NFL camps). Of course, head coach Matt Rhule left to take the Baylor job however, he didn’t leave the cupboard bare. New coach Geoff Collins, while putting his own stamp on the program, will continue with many of things that Rhule did. He has to find a quarterback to replace Walker, who was a four-year starter, but once he does there are plenty of playmakers on the roster at both wide receiver (Keith Kirkwood, Ventell Bryant and Adonis Jennings) and running back (Ryquell Armstead, Jager Gardner and David Hood). Despite losing Dawkins, the line returns 61 career starts which puts the Owls in the middle of the pack in the AAC. On defense, only four starters return and three of them are in the defensive backfield (Sean Chandler, Artrel Foster and Delvon Randell). The front seven will have to rely on players who have some game experience but not many who were starters.
Like the Rhule era, Collins’ reign as Owls head coach will start in South Bend when Temple plays Notre Dame. A week later, the Mayor’s Cup game will be played for the first time since 2012 when the Owls and Villanova meet at Lincoln Financial Field.
Prediction: The Owls will get to bowl eligibility with at least six wins and play in a bowl game for the third year in a row.
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Speaking of the Wildcats, Villanova will have a new head coach in longtime assistant Mark Ferrante but Andy Talley was nice enough to leave him a veteran quarterback in Zach Bednarczyk and a running back in Aaron Forbes, who averaged 6.1 yards per carry in 2016. On defense, safety Rob Rolle was named the preseason CAA Defensive Player of the Year. The Wildcats will try and build on what they did a season ago when they allowed an average of 15.0 and 259.8 yards per game.
They start the season ranked in the top 10 in the nation and in addition to the game with Temple and the always tough CAA schedule, they open at Lehigh, a team ranked in the top 20 in the country.
Prediction: A run in the FCS Playoffs to at least the quarterfinals.
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Penn, like the rest of the Ivy League, starts a couple weeks after everybody else and the return a wealth of talent to a team that has shared the league title in both of head coach Ray Priore’s two seasons. They must replace Alek Torgersen at quarterback but return three All-Ivy first team players in wide receiver Justin Watson, running back Tre Solomon and defensive end Louis Vecchio. In all, the Quakers have six starters back on offense and eight defenders.
Prediction: Another battle with Princeton and Harvard for the league title but with a large hole at quarterback another league title seems doubtful.
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West Chester is bring back 16 starters from an 8–3 team and is the favorite to win the PSAC East Division. Running back Jerel Elder, who could become just the fifth back in school history to amass more than 3,000 rushing yards and 4,000 all-purpose yards, will operate behind a line that has four returning starters including two who were all-league in 2016. A deep line will lead head coach Bill Zwaan’s defense which was №16 in the country allowing 300.3 yards per game and №14 in scoring defense at 18.1 points per game. They think they can improve both numbers in 2017.
Prediction: A PSAC East title and a win over the PSAC West division champion to claim the overall league title.
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On September 2nd, Widener and Rowan will open the season against each other for the third year in a row. Each team is looking to improve on a 6–4 mark from a year ago and become factors in the battle for their respective league championships.
Wesley College, Frostburg State and Salisbury all relative newcomers to the NJAC will make it difficult for the Profs to get back on top.
In the MAC, Widener faces an up hill challenge as well both Stevenson, the defending league champion, and Delaware Valley are preseason top 20 teams nationally.
Delaware Valley, who host Wesley to open the season on August 31st, is led by preseason All-American safety Shawn Miller.
Predictions: Delaware Valley wins the MAC championship and a game in the Division III Playoffs. Widener finishes fourth. Rowan finishes third in the NJAC which is won by Wesley.
Email Rock Hoffman at Rock@footballstories.com
