Penn State Football 2023 Season Preview

Penn State football schedule and predictions

The schedule is pretty straightforward for Penn State as the Big Ten is a bit top-heavy. Michigan and Ohio State will be by far the biggest tests with one or two other games that could be scary if they don’t show up or try and sleepwalk through. I am mainly talking about the matchup early in the season with Illinois in Champagne. Let’s take a look game by game with my overall prediction for 2023.

9/2/23- West Virginia at Penn State- WIN. Not a ton of concern other than season openers can be scary. Maybe a little closer than anticipated.

9/9/23- Delaware at Penn State- WIN. Simply too big of a talent gap, Penn State will cruise here.

9/16/23- Penn State at Illinois- WIN. Close game against perhaps the best team in the conference not named Ohio State, Michigan, or Penn State.

9/23/23- Iowa at Penn State- WIN. Penn State has historically struggled against Iowa, particularly when hopes are high, but it’s not happening in the whiteout game.

9/30/23- Penn State at Northwestern- WIN. Northwestern is in shambles at the moment and Penn State should be just fine here.

10/14/23- Umass at Penn State– WIN. UMass does not have enough to hang in this game, a good opportunity for Penn State to build some momentum going into the back half of the season.

10/21/23- Penn State at Ohio State- LOSS. While I think this will be a competitive game, the Horseshoe is a tough place to go win. It will come down to a big play or two down the stretch.

10/28/23- Indiana at Penn State- WIN. Penn State will need to show up for this one but should come out victorious if they play well.

11/4/23- Penn State at Maryland- WIN. There are certain teams that have given Penn State some problems in recent years, Maryland is NOT one of them. Penn State seems to own Maryland for one reason or another.

11/11/23- Michigan at Penn State- WIN. This will be another battle and Penn State is fortunate to have this one at home. They will make enough plays to get it done and the environment will be wild.

11/18/23- Rutgers at Penn State- WIN. Not a lot to say here. Rutgers is one of those teams that should not present a challenge and will allow Penn State to work on some things.

11/24/23- Penn State at Michigan State – WIN. In the final game of the season, a potential playoff berth on the line, give me Penn State.

Final Record: (11-1, 8-1)

I believe that the floor for Penn State is 9-3, with a ceiling of 12-0. Nothing in-between would surprise me. They have the pieces to compete with anyone and it will come down to big plays in big moments. The margin between those top teams in the Big Ten appears to be so thin, and it will be exciting to see if the Nittany Lions can get back to the same level as Michigan and Ohio State and win their first conference title since 2016.