We are still struggling to get a clear consensus on where things stand on the national radar for Penn State in the upcoming 2022 college football season, but the fresh batch of SP+ projections from ESPN is another positive indication things could be looking up for the Nittany Lions in the fall. Various way-too-early rankings and projections have been updated following the conclusion of spring football practices across the country, although how much actually changes from before spring to after is often not too drastic. But as the transfer portal leads to constant roster management, some rosters are improved more than others.
Penn State was among the teams receiving a slight uptick in its SP+ projection from ESPN following the spring, but it wasn’t enough of a change to lead to a change in its overall projection ranking. Penn State sits comfortably at No. 13 in the SP+ rankings, which were updated by Bill Connelly over the weekend. Penn State’s SP+ projection comes in at 16.3.
The SP+ ranking is a way to weight overall team efficiency. Penn State’s efficiency is led by the defense according to these projections, while the offense has a little more to prove in 2022. Penn State’s offense ranked 53rd in the updated SP+ ranking with a projection of 30.3 (essentially, projecting an average of 30.3 points per game). Meanwhile, the defense is projected to give up a total of 14.0 ppg, ranking fifth in defensive SP+ projections.
Those numbers do seem to fall in line with the overall general views of Penn State going into the new season. Despite losing the amount of star power it is on defense, Penn State still seems to have the defensive side of the football in good shape going into the fall. But the offense has plenty of room for improvement following a dismal year running the football in 2021 behind a shaky offensive line and continuing to see some ups and downs in the passing game with consistency.
Check out the full SP+ projections from ESPN to see how Penn State stacks up against the rest of the nation.
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