After months of offseason speculating and studying, the time to see what Penn State is ultimately made of on the football field is finally here. Penn State will begin its 2022 season on the road Thursday night at Purdue for a nationally televised primetime opener against a Boilermakers team coming off an impressive nine-win season a year ago.
Penn State comes into the game as a slight favorite, and our staff here at Nittany Lions Wire appears to be on board with the idea of Penn State coming home with a win to start the season. Or are we???
We will be sharing our staff predictions for each game once again this season, and we will also be keeping tabs on our records striaght-up and against the spread… for informative purposes only, of course!
But everyone is starting with a clean slate to get the year started, as should be the case. Below are our final score predictions and a quick thought or two about the game itself.
Andrew Harbaugh, @MandrewH_
Final Score: Penn State 31-Purdue 17
Penn State overall has the better roster compared to Purdue, the depth is lacking for the Boilermakers versus the Nittany Lions. I think the difference is going to be in the run game. I think Penn State controls possession, introduces the nation to Nick Singleton, and plays a classic Penn State-style game.
Kevin McGuire, @KevinOnCFB
Final score: Penn State 26, Purdue 17
While I think Penn State wins this game, and doing more than enough to cover the spread on the road, I think this is a second-half game that sees Penn State work through a few issues after halftime to put the clamps down on Purdue en route to a victory.
Sam Dehring, @sam_dehring68
Final score: Purdue 27, Penn State 17
I think Purdue beats Penn State but I do think it will be close. Both teams lost key players on both sides of the ball. But I think Purdue comes out on top with this one.
| Winner | Final score | Season straight-up | Season ATS | |
| Andrew | Penn State | 31-17 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Kevin | Penn State | 26-27 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Sam | Purdue | 27-17 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
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