Penn State football: Updated game-by-game predictions for 2020

Penn State football has a talented roster and will be looking to finally make a playoff push under head coach James Franklin.

Penn State has been trying to get out of Ohio State’s shadow in the Big Ten and make a playoff push that they have been pushing for ever since winning the conference in 2016, which was also the last time that the Nittany Lions were able to beat the Buckeyes.

Penn State took a bit of of a blow when star linebacker Micah Parsons decided that he would sit out this season amid the COVID-19 pandemic and prepare for the NFL draft in 2021.

The Nittany Lions are already missing key defenders like Yatur Gross-Matos, the team’s top pass rusher last year, and the team’s best deep threat on offense: KJ Hamler.

The Big Ten decided that they would play an eight-game schedule. Penn State will miss the two teams perceived to be the favorites in the West division in Wisconsin and Minnesota and they will get Ohio State at home.

They lost what was a unique non-conference game in playing one of the ACC’s better teams in Virginia Tech and that could actually improve their chances of making the playoff for the first time under Franklin.

Here’s how the 2020 season will play out for the Nittany Lions.