Penn State football schedule 2020: Predicting every Nittany Lions game

Predicting every game on the Penn State football schedule.

The Penn State football schedule hosts Ohio State, travels to Michigan and may have what it takes to win the Big Ten and make the College Football Playoff.

The 2019 season was meant to be a rebuilding season for the Penn State Nittany Lions following the departure of quarterback Trace McSorley and for the second consecutive year, they lost their top running back, this time being Miles Sanders. But the Nittany Lions blocked out all of the noise and tallied up 11 wins on their way to their second New Year’s Six Bowl victory in three years.

Heading into 2020, the Nittany Lions look to be one of the most explosive teams on offense while having one of the nation’s top defenses to support it. Quarterback Sean Clifford performed exceptionally well in his first year as the starter and looks to show his improvements from the offseason right away.

But on offense, the biggest factor is going to be running back Journey Brown. Last season, the “Lawn Boyz” of Penn State’s backfield were a running back by committee type team but Journey Brown took control of the driver seat, rushing for over 100 yards in four of their last five games, including a 200-plus yard and two-touchdown performance in the Cotton Bowl.

On defense, Penn State is led by All-American linebacker Micah Parsons, who by many, is considered to be one of top defensive players for the 2021 NFL Draft. The defense of the Nittany Lions is what stole the show a season ago, finishing in the top eight in both rushing defense and scoring defense. And while there were some departures to the NFL, the Nittany Lions defense shouldn’t miss a step heading into 2020.

So what does 2020 have in store for the Nittany Lions? Penn State’s clash with in-state rival Pitt is over (for now) and go on the road to take on Virginia Tech in Week 2 of the 2020 season. Their first conference game is on the last Saturday of September, while October has their toughest stretch of games playing at Michigan, and then hosting Iowa and Ohio State in back-to-back weeks. And in November, Penn State should coast to the end of the season with the bottom feeders of the Big Ten on their remaining schedule.

Penn State has the talent and coaching to run the table this year, and yes that means they can pick up a win over their biggest ghost, Ohio State.

So with all of that being said, what will Penn State’s record be at season’s end?