Penn State football schedule 2019: Game-by-game predictions

The Penn State Nittany Lions have undergone massive changes entering 2019 but does that mean success will be hard to find this season?

Things can change quickly for a program in college football and the Penn State Nittany Lions heading into 2019 are a testament to that. After going 9-4 last season, the team is now without long-time quarterback Trace McSorley in addition to losing Miles Sanders. More than just seeing players leave for the NFL, though, James Franklin’s team has more question marks than usual.

Many people assumed that, with McSorley’s departure, the starting quarterback job would transfer to Tommy Stevens. But as Stevens himself surprisingly elected to transfer to Mississippi State, Penn State was left scrambling. That puts redshirt sophomore Sean Clifford in the spotlight and, though he is a promising talent, it’s far more of a question mark than Stevens would’ve been had he stayed.

Exacerbating the problems on offense for the Nittany Lions is the lack of proven skill players. While KJ Hamler returns and figures to be an explosive force, there is little in the way or proven talent. If the offense is going to be consistent and successful, young players are going to have to step up and produce like they haven’t before at this level.

The good news for Penn State, though, is that their defense should be their strength in the 2019 college football season. With Yetur Gross-Matos off the edge, Robert Windsor up the middle, linebacker Micah Parsons in the middle of the field and a secondary led by the duo of Garrett Taylor and John Reid, the Nittany Lions should be stingy against opposing offenses.

What remains to be seen, though, is if the defense will be dominant enough to carry the Nittany Lions to another successful season, or perhaps even more success. With that in mind, let’s go game-by-game through the 2019 Penn State schedule and predict the outcome of each contest and see where things end up.