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How Penn State’s future opponents did in Week 2: Auburn coming in hot, Ohio State stumbles, big win for Hawkeyes
It was indeed quite an eventful weekend around the Big Ten and the college football world. If you were only plugged into the game taking place in Beaver Stadium and celebrating Penn State’s victory over Ball State, then let’s get you caught up on everything else that went on with Penn State’s upcoming opponents for the 2021 season?
And why not start with this week’s opponent, the Auburn Tigers?
Much like the Oklahoma Sooners, much of the Big 12 struggled in week 1 of the college football season despite the league’s 9-1 record.
Well, that was a fun weekend of college football. Okay, maybe not if you’re a fan of a Big 12 team not named Texas, Kansas State, Texas Tech, or TCU. Though the conference went 9-1 on the first big weekend of college football, it was a struggle to get there for most of the conference.
Despite playing FCS and Group of Five members, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Iowa State, and Kansas all struggled to pick up wins in their season openers.
West Virginia was just one of two conference members to play a member of the Power Five and wasn’t able to pick up the win over Maryland. Kansas State, the other team locked in a Power Five battle beat Stanford by 17 starting the third season of the Chris Klieman era with a big win.
The only battle between ranked opponents pitted Texas vs Louisiana, and Texas was one of the few teams in the league that made their win look easy. They got up 14 to 6 by halftime and extended that lead in the third quarter to 16 points. The Texas defense held the Ragin’ Cajuns to 2.6 yards per carry and just 4 of 13 on third down. Hudson Card was solid in his debut, throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for one.
Texas Tech knocked off Houston in a matchup that sounds like it will be a conference game in the near future. Tyler Shough was efficient, completing 17 of 24 passes for 231 yards and a touchdown, but it Tahj Brooks and Erik Ezukanama who stole the show for the Red Raiders. Brooks had 134 yards on 15 carries and 2 touchdowns. Ezukanama caught seven passes for 179 yards, averaging 25.6 yards per reception.
Iowa State is probably the most surprising result of the weekend as the struggled with Northern Iowa and were actually losing in the early going of that game.
It was a weird weekend start to finish for the Big 12, but again, as a conference, they finished 9-1.
Let’s take a look at the Big 12 scoreboard from week 1.
Penn State sits atop the Big Ten recruiting rankings for 2022 as the season gets underway. Nebraska is bringing up the rear.
With college football kicking off, it is once again time to take an updated look at the national recruiting rankings and see how teams in the Big Ten stack up against each other and nationally. There has not been too much movement in the overall pecking order inside the Big Ten, although a few notable changes have been made compared to where things stood a month ago.
Shortly after we published our look at the Big Ten recruiting rankings on August 1, 247 Sports updated their math to reflect recent changes with Ohio State’s Class of 2022. Those changes ended up moving Ohio State down a few spots nationally for the Class of 2022 and allowed Penn State to ascend to the top spot in the national and Big Ten rankings. As the month of September begins, Penn State continues to sit on top of the recruiting rankings as the football season has started. Can the Nittany Lions hold on to the top spot without a single five-star commitment? Time will tell if this unprecedented accomplishment can be achieved.
There were some small changes in the overall Big ten rankings in the past month with Michigan State wiggling ahead of Indiana and Iowa climbing out of the Big Ten basement to move ahead of a Nebraska program that continues to struggle to find its way.
We’ll see how things change in the Big Ten recruiting scene now that games are being played, big official visits are lined up for the biggest game son the schedule, and teams pile up wins and losses along the way.
Here is where things stand in the recruiting rankings for the Big Ten as determined by the composite team rankings calculated by 247 Sports. We have ranked each Big Ten team from the highest to the lowest ranking in the Big Ten, and have noted where each school ranks nationally. We also noted where each team was ranked nationally in our last monthly update posted on August 1.
Ohio State continues to lead the Big Ten and nation in recruiting, with Penn State in 2nd. What about the rest of the Big Ten?
We have now arrived at the start of August, and Big Ten football will officially kick off later this month. While 12 of the 14 Big Ten members will have to wait until September to get things going, Nebraska and Illinois will be a part of college football’s Week 0 schedule when they begin their seasons against each other in Champaign on August 28.
Heading into the 2021 season, the recruiting classes of 2022 have been taking form for every Big Ten school, and things have been going incredibly well for Penn State and Ohio State. But it’s probably also a good time to take a temperature reading on how the rest of the Big Ten is faring on the recruiting scene both nationally and within the Big Ten.
Here is where things stand in the recruiting rankings for the Big Ten as determined by the composite team rankings calculated by 247 Sports. We have ranked each Big Ten team from the highest to the lowest ranking in the Big Ten, and have noted where each school ranks nationally.
Will Penn State beat Maryland for the commitment of a three-star safety next weekend?
Penn State has absolutely been crushing it on the recruiting trail in the Class of 2022. And a week from now, another player could be joining the pack.
Maryland safety Kevin Winston has announced he will decide between his final two schools next Saturday, July 31. Winston previously announced his final two schools were Penn State and Maryland, meaning he will choose between the Nittany Lions and a chance to stay a bit closer to home while still competing in the Big Ten.
Only a small handful of predictions have been made on the 247 Sports crystal ball, but they are all in favor of Penn State landing the commitment from Winston. We’ll find out a week from now whether the crystal ball picks were on the money or not.
Winston made his most recent official visit to Penn State’s campus back on June 11, a week after he made a visit to Michigan State. Winston visited Maryland a week after his trip to Happy Valley.
Committing on July 31st! #weaređŚor #Goterpsđ˘
— Kevin Winston Jr. (@KevinWinstonJr1) July 22, 2021
The Cribđ˘ Or Happy ValleyđŚ? #goterps #weare pic.twitter.com/RR2NIKDLL2
— Kevin Winston Jr. (@KevinWinstonJr1) June 23, 2021
247 Sports ranks Winston as a three-star recruit and the 13th top player from the state of Maryland.
Penn State is also hoping to hear some good news on Monday afternoon. Four-star cornerback Cam Miller is set to make his decision known on Monday at 12:00 p.m. ET. Miller will reportedly decide between Penn State and Virginia Tech.
Penn State’s Class of 2022 is currently ranked No. 2 in the nation. Only Ohio State is ranked ahead of the Nittany Lions at this point in the recruiting cycle.
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This is too good!
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Whenever you can take a deserved shot at a big-time school, especially if you’re one still working to get your footing, you take it.
Such is the case for Maryland, a team that twice played Texas in a home-and-home series that the Longhorns were expected to win, but walked away with the two-year sweep in 2017-18.
Texas is famously, along with Oklahoma, looking to depart the Big 12 for the SEC, and the Terps got their shots in on Twitter given the outcome of the past two games. The official Maryland Terrapins Twitter account posted a meme on Friday highlighting that perhaps the Longhorns are heading to the SEC to avoid losing yet again to the Big Ten East school.
— Maryland Terrapins (@umterps) July 23, 2021
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Texas does lead the all-time series against Maryland, 3-2, having won in 1959, 1960 and 1978. But still, it’s a well done social media campaign for a school looking to assert itself in a tough conference and division.
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How many wins does College Football News predict for Penn State in 2021?
There is absolutely no question that Penn State is coming off a bizarre 2020 college football season. What is left to figure out is whether or not the 2020 season was a preview of the Nittany Lions sliding back in the Big Ten pecking order or if it was a season to chalk up to the uniqueness of the circumstances. Whatever the case was in 2020, the 2021 season is one many are expecting to see Penn State bounce back.
Penn State has some difficult challenges to come in the fall though, including two of the most difficult road trips any team can make in cross-division matchups against the Big Ten West. Throw in being in the same division as Ohio State and a fun non-conference matchup with Auburn, and a handful of surprising revenge situations, and Penn State has a lot to get through in 2021.
College Football News took a shot at predicting how the season will go for every team in the Big Ten, including the Nittany Lions, with a full list of wins and losses. How many wins are lined up for the Nittany Lions? A good amount. Enough to get to a New Years Six bowl game? Perhaps not.
Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion.
CFN predicts the Nittany Lions will tie for second place in the Big Ten East Division. Here’s the game-by-game breakdown of how that could potentially happen, according to CFN’s preseason predictions:
What does Athlon Sports predict for Penn State football and the rest of the Big Ten in 2021?
The annual Athlon Sports college football preview magazine just arrived in my mailbox the other day, signaling the start of a new college football season is once again drawing closer and closer. And it may come as a bit of a surprise to you, but Athlon Sports is pretty high on one of Penn State’s rivals this season. But where does one of the most popular preseason magazines project the Nittany Lions this season in the Big Ten and the national picture?
We knew previously Athlon Sports was projecting Penn State to play in a New Years Day bowl game. Athlon Sports’ bowl projections paired Penn State up with Missouri in the Outback Bowl. So you could get an early sense of where Athlon Sports had Penn State in their national picture. Clearly not in reach of a College Football Playoff spot and just a bit shy of playing in one of the bigger and more notable New Years Six bowl games.
Athlon Sports is taking into account some of the questions stemming from the bizarre 2020 season, the hiring of a new offensive coordinator, and a challenging schedule to figure out what’s ahead for Penn State in 2021. And when it all comes together, Athlon Sports predicts Penn State will go 8-4 with a second-place finish in the Big Ten East behind the playoff-bound Buckeyes (Athlon Sports predicts Penn State will go 6-3 in Big Ten play). That would be good enough for a top 25 ranking, with a preseason ranking of No. 19.
But how will the rest of the Big Ten look? Will Wisconsin or Iowa (or Northwestern???) come out on top of the Big Ten West to face Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game? Was Indiana’s 2020 season a fluke? Can Michigan turn some surprises or are the Wolverines destined for a mediocre season? Can Nebraska manage to go to a bowl game? And can Michigan State avoid the cellar of the Big Ten East?
Here’s how Athlon Sports is predicting the Big Ten to look at the end of the 2021 season.
Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion.
CBS Sports’ college basketball insider Jon Rothstein reported that Florida and the Terrapins will play each other in early December.
The Florida Gators men’s basketball program has beefed up their non-conference schedule once again.
CBS Sports’ college basketball insider Jon Rothstein reported that the Gators and Maryland will play in a quadruple-header at the Barclays Center Dec. 12.
Florida and the Terrapins will be joined by Purdue and North Carolina State, Miami and Fordham, and Iona and Yale.
Rothstein reported earlier this offseason that the Gators will host Milwaukee and start its home-and-home series with Oklahoma next season.
White and his team will also make an appearance at the Fort Myers Tip-Off, where it’ll play two games alongside California, Ohio State and Seton Hall. It’s to be determined which team Florida will play in the opening round.
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Friday the Gators filled their last vacancy on the sideline. White hired FAU’s Akeem Miskdeen to complete his coaching staff. Florida’s roster is almost completely set for next season. It just awaits a decision on whether its big man Colin Castleton will keep his name in the NBA draft or return to the Gators. The deadline for players to withdraw their names from the draft is July 7.
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Penn State faces a stiff schedule in 2021 that features six top 25 teams according to the preseason rankings from Pro Football Focus.
The preseason rankings from various outlets have begun making the rounds. We have seen where Penn State and some of their opponents in 2021 stack up in the preseason top 25 rankings from Sporting News and Athlon Sports. Joining the fun this week was Pro Football Focus, which used its system metrics and simulations to rank all 130 FBS programs for the upcoming season.
Penn State ranked No. 19 in the preseason ranking from PFF. Judging by these initial rankings, Penn State will have some challenging games on its 2021 schedule. That much we already knew with road games at Wisconsin and Iowa, not to mention Ohio State, and home games against Auburn, Indiana, and Michigan. All six of those opponents appear in the PFF top 25.
PFF only provided national championship and conference championship probabilities for the top 25 teams in their ranking. That information, where applicable, is included below. Also of note, Penn State’s Week 4 opponent, Villanova, did not receive a grade as they are an FCS program.
