Penn State, and All of College Football, Gets Major Warning on Thursday Night
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Penn State has often been circled as a team on major upset alert come Saturday afternoon. It's an entirely new program, new coaching staff, new players, and pretty much new everything for Penn State.
While that represents a great challenge, it is an obvious spot where an upset could take place. Now that the season is here, the worry is at the front door, and the Nittany Lions need to protect against it.
They got a perfect warning shot on Thursday night when the UMASS Minutemen rolled into Piscataway, New Jersey, to take on conference rival, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
UMASS came into action with a 16-game losing streak and was one of the worst teams in the MAC conference last year and for the last several years. That didn't matter at all.
They went in, and from the first snap to the last, they pushed the Knights around all night long.
The final score was 37-21, but it was not even that close. UMASS dominated the football game, and it was a massive warning to the rest of the country to make sure that they take every opponent seriously.
It rang true throughout the entire country, but it hits home in Happy Valley. The Nittany Lions have very high hopes for the season that could be a really great one if they take care of business.
It would be no surprise if Penn State ran the table and rolled into a really good record and maybe even a College Football Playoff berth. It would be equally unsurprising if the Nittany Lions stubbed their toes a couple of times and had some pretty weird losses.
The Nittany Lions need to desperately avoid a slip-up in any of their first three games this year. They will be on upset alert for the first month of the season against Marshall, Temple, and Buffalo before they begin Big Ten play.
Penn State will be almost exclusively brand-new look throughout their entire team. Nearly the entire offense has been overhauled: new linemen, new running backs, an entirely new quarterback room, new receivers, and an entirely new defense.
If it doesn't look smooth on Saturday, that is okay. All that matters is that the team gets off to a start with a win. They can correct mistakes, and time will get everyone more comfortable playing in the new environment.
You can't win the National Championship on September 5th but you sure can lose it. The Nittany Lions got their warning to do everything in their power to avoid just that on Saturday.
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