"Houston 28, Penn State 21 . Alarm bells went off when I heard the Penn State players initially wanted to decline this bowl bid. Ever since, I've had this feeling the Nittany Lions' heads are not in the right place for this game"
-- Mark Brennan, mxbscout
"Houston 27, Penn State 17. A ball control offense is the key to winning this game for Penn State. I don't see that happening with Rob Bolden under center. That will allow Case Keenum to get too many opportunities to make the Lion secondary look bad."
-- Scott Cole, PSU96
"Penn State 27, Houston 14 . Just cant for the life of me think our guys are really up for this game. But, once the first hit takes place, the boys will be ready. We shut down one dimensional offenses. Lets go State"
-- Keith Conlin, keithconlin
"Penn State 27, Houston 21. The running of Silas Redd and Stephfon Green will be the difference in this game because they will control the clock, keep Keenum off of the field and use the big boys up front to dominate the game."
-- Nirav Dalal, PlaybookNirav
"Penn State 26, Houston 20 . It would seem that Penn State has the odds stacked against it with some lingering distractions and questions as to who will end up under center. I am going to assume McGloin gets the nod and the defense comes up big with an impressive outing from Silas Redd."
-- Mark Harrington, PlaybookMark
"Penn State 21, Houston 20 . This team and its coaches have admirably said all the right things in public. But can the put it all together one more time vs. a Houston team that at best, will be annoyingly pesky to defend? With more question marks than quarterbacks available for this game, it's going to need possibly its best effort of the season."
-- Tom Hoffman, underscoreTom
"Houston 34, Penn State 23 . I don't see McGloin playing, which means Penn State will have to rely on the running game a little too much to keep pace with Keenum"
-- Cory James, CoryJames
"Penn State 21, Houston 17. Penn State has every reason to come out and win this game. They have the odds stacked against them, but they play with heart and have a coach that wants to win. That's why, I am predicting a Penn State win."
-- Beth Long, bethlongscout
"Penn State 12, Houston 10 . Given the numerous issues surrounding the quarterback position, the only hope for the Nittany Lions against Houston is for the defense to step up and force a low scoring matchup. Fortunately, one of the best defensive staffs in college football remains in place at least for this one last time"
-- Tom McLaughlin, WeRPSUPlaybook
"Penn State 31, Houston 27 . The Lions will run run run on the Cougars with enough defensive pressure to force Houston's high powered offense into mistakes."
-- Donovan Neal, PSUMtnBike
" Houston 38, Penn State 10. Case Keenum will be able to throw the ball around and put points on the board, while the Penn State offense will not be able to put points on the board or keep Keenum off the field."
-- Rob Riva, rriva
"Houston 27, Penn State 10. As much as it pains me to say, the Penn State offense will be stagnent without Matt McGloin. The defense will battle, but emotionally, they will have to cope with being on the field too much. Expect a second-half letdown."
-- Jamie Trescavage, jst10
Mark Brennan, mxbscout
"9-4: The offensive line won't be ready to handle Alabama's stout defense in Week No. 2, and the closing regular-season run of Nebraska, @Ohio State and @Wisconsin is brutal. I'm thinking 9-3 through the end of November with a bowl loss or 8-4 with a bowl win.
Scott Cole, PSU96
"8-5: Outside of 2005 and 2008, Penn State has shown a very definite trend of winning the games they are supposed to win and losing the games they are supposed to lose. I don't see that trend changing this year with four games where Penn State will likely be an underdog. In addition, I'm counting any game with Iowa as a loss until Penn State proves they can defeat the Hawkeyes. The Lions will win the rest including a minor bowl.
Keith Conlin, keithconlin
"10-3: Calling for an upset of Bama but a bad loss to Northwestern out there later in the year. Think we bust Iowa up (finally) and lose two of the last three. Favorable early schedule does this team good. Big upset over No. 2 Tide and maybe, just maybe, they have a real chance. Great defense will have to carry this team but, as usual, it goes back to the O-Line. This is our year if you go by the every-four-year cycle of good O-lines. Wiscy plays Nebraska for Big Ten title. Wiscy wins. Overall, I don't think that Nebraska will roll over everybody this season as a lot of people are predicting. It is a down year for the Big Ten and that is the only reason that the Huskers win their division. It’s a hard time having to strap it up every week. In the Big Ten, anybody can beat anybody on any given day. Having to strap it up week in and week out will catch up to them.
Nirav Dalal, PlaybookNirav
"9-4: The biggest difference between last year and this year is that Penn State has a defense that can keep them in games when the quarterback, whoever that might be, struggles. I'm not convinced that the offensive line will perform much better against the top tier competition so I'm projecting those games all to be losses. But, I think the Lions will get passed some toss-ups against Northwestern and Illinois because of that defense.
Mark Harrington, PlaybookMark
"9-4: Penn State should see improvement on both sides of the ball but the difference between good and great will come down to the Lions offensive and defensive lines.
Tom Hoffman, underscoreTom
"10-3: There is no doubt the defense will be better this year with the addition by subtraction at LB and a few more healthy bodies on the DL. Defensive end will be the key to this becoming a very good defense. The offense at least won't be any worse than last year, and should be above average if PSU can figure out its interior offensive line and settle on an effective QB. The November schedule is as daunting as anyone's in the nation, but in Joe's last year, there has to be some football adrenalin there to pull out an extra win.
Cory James, CoryJames
"10-3: Penn State looks to have an improved defense with the extra experience at lineback and safety and some playmaking defensive tackles returning. I am still not sold on even one above average defensive end on this year's squad, which will keep the defense from being special. I look for the QB situation to settle itself out while Penn State relies on a vastly improved running game led by Silas Redd. Best news of the year is the last three games on the schedule being where they are. Penn State should be peaking at that time and I wouldn't be surprised to see a stronger finish than people think.
Beth Long, bethlongscout
"10-3: Everywhere I look I see remarks about last year’s "disappointing 7-6 season.” Well, this year the Lions have everything in place to turn that around. I am predicting PSU to pick up three more wins. The team has more experience and a seemingly more determined staff. I think they go into a bowl game at 10-2 after picking up losses from two of: 'Bama, Nebraska, Ohio State and Wisconsin.
Tom McLaughlin, WeRPSUPlaybook
"11-3: Lost in the annual quarterback controversy, and the unending discussions of Joe Paterno's health and fitness to be coaching is the fact that the 2011 Lions return a lot of experienced talent at just about every position. This year's edition should be a better team top to bottom, and that bodes well for a strong season. Alabama, and one of the murderer's row of Nebraska, Ohio State and Wisconsin in November will prove too much, and I expect the Lions to drop the first B1G title game for a third loss before feasting on a mid-range bowl opponent.
Donovan Neal, PSUMtnBike
"9-4: A tough schedule, no emerging QB as a clearcut starter, the yearly offensive line woes, and many other questions weighing down on the program has the Lions weekly wandering down the middle of the road.
Rob Riva, rriva
"7-6: Penn State will be better than its record will ultimately indicate considering a nasty schedule, but the team still will not be able to win games consistently against the powerhouse programs. Although the defense should be improved substantially from last year, it will not matter who is playing quarterback given yet another year of uncertainty at the offensive line spot, and the Nittany Lions will once again find difficulty putting points on the board on a consistent basis. Look for a repeat of last year with Penn State to finish the regular season with a 7-5 record and a bowl loss.
Jamie Trescavage, jst10
"8-5: This team has some very quality athletes at key positions, but Penn State was snake-bit by injuries in 2010 and its lack of depth was exposed. That depth still seems to be a glaring issue entering this season, especially at running back and on the offensive line. If the offense can gel (meaning a quarterback is established), both senior wideout Derek Moye and sophomore tailback Silas Redd could compete for All-Big Ten honors. Defensively, if healthy, this could be one of the best squads in the country. Pound for pound, there are not many linebacker two-deeps that match up with the Nittany Lions. However, tough games against Alabama and Nebraska at home, and Ohio State and Wisconsin on the road spell trouble. Look for another bowl loss to an SEC team to cap the season.
