STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — It’s been just over seven months since Penn State center Nick Dawkins and his teammates last played a football game. They feel like they’ve been waiting much longer.
Coming one game away from playing for a national championship seems to have that effect. The No. 2 Nittany Lions are eager to get back at it following one of the most successful seasons in the program’s 139 years. Although Saturday’s season-opener against Nevada won’t draw the attention of a College Football
Playoff matchup, everyone has to start somewhere.
“It is no longer and it is not the idea of proving other people wrong,” Dawkins said. “It is the idea of proving ourselves right.”
The Nittany Lions have all the pieces to make another deep run, including 15 starters who helped them win the most games in program history a season ago. Drew Allar, who’s thrown for 6,302 yards, 53 touchdowns and helped Penn State win a program-best 34 games over three years, is back to chase what would be the program’s first national championship since 1986.
They have also bolstered their ranks with a handful of transfers and added coordinator Jim Knowles, coming off the title run with Ohio State, to guide a top 10 defense.
Opening as more than six-touchdown favorites, the Nittany Lions likely won’t be tested until No. 7 Oregon visits on Sept. 27. Until then, coach James Franklin will use the non-conference portion of the schedule to further develop the roster.
“That’s something I’m pretty adamant about,” Franklin said. “Especially early in the year, is trying to get these guys on the field so we can evaluate them, know what we have, know what the strengths are, know areas we need to work on in a weakness standpoint or deficiency standpoint.”
Nevada coach Jeff Choate doesn’t see many weaknesses when he looks at film, but believes the payday game is an ideal situation for his team.
“I think it’s good to play a really elite opponent Week 1,” Choate said. “You're going to have your team’s full attention the second you put the tape on. We know who these guys are. We know what kind of caliber team this is and we’re going to have to have our best.”
It all starts up front for the Nittany Lions, who can plug players with starting experience in at any spot. Dawkins leads the group that helped the team’s running backs combine for 202.3 rushing yards per game and 35 touchdowns. Dani Dennis-Sutton and Zane Durant will lead a defensive line that helped chip in 119 tackles for loss and 44 sacks last season.
Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen have split carries and catches almost 50-50 at Penn State. Now, both running backs have Evan Royster’s career rushing record in sight.
Royster ended his career under Joe Paterno in 2010 with 3,932 yards. Singleton is currently 10th on the program’s career rushing list with 2,912 yards while Allen is right behind him with 2,877 yards.
Both Singleton and Allen eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards last season.
“Honestly, that doesn’t’ handle itself unless we handle every game,” Dawkins said. “If we do our job every game starting with Nevada, I think something like that will naturally occur.”
Both teams are looking to break-in new skill position players.
The Nittany Lions brought in Kyron Hudson (USC), Devonte Ross (Troy) and Trebor Peña (Syracuse) to bolster its thin wideout corps. They’ll try to lift a passing game that finished 66th in the country.
Nevada added former Utah State running back Herschel Turner to boost a running game that generated 163.4 yards per game last season.
Beaver Stadium has a new look this season. Gone is the old press box and bleacher seating that led up to it along the west side. Both have been replaced with temporary seats and lighting as a part of a multi-year, $700 million renovation project.
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