One good friend of mine believes JoePa and Penn State can do no wrong. To him, Joe is much more than a coach and is in fact on a level with great Americans like Lincoln, Washington, and Edison (this guy gets down right angry when someone may sarcastically suggest that Paterno’s offense was run around the time Edison was inventing the light bulb). A Penn State loss is enough to devastate this friend’s weekend.

I have another friend who takes a somewhat different point of view. He loves Penn State and Joe Paterno, has season tickets and never misses a game, but he also believes that whatever can go wrong, will go wrong for the Lions during a game. A typical pre-season conversation with him goes like this, “I think we’ll be OK this season, but that Eastern Illinois team scares me.”

Three weeks before the Lions’ season opener against Akron, there is reason to get excited. The USA Today/Coaches pre-season college football poll released last week has Penn State ranked eighth in the nation. It’s hard to believe, but the Nittany Lions haven’t been ranked in the top ten in a pre-season poll since 1999.

At Penn State’s media day Thursday, Paterno downplayed the ranking saying he doesn’t pay attention and then ask rhetorically, “Does it guarantee us anything?” The 82-year old Paterno followed up by saying it’s too soon to get excited and then joked, “I’m just excited to be alive.”

The ranking is due in large part to the return of All-Big 10 quarterback Daryll Clark, who accounted for 29 touchdowns last season. Ten of Clark’s scores came on the ground so he is more than just a passing threat.

Clark is also one of the most articulate and thoughtful athletes on the Penn State squad. He is the team's unquestioned leader on the field.

Clark and the Penn State offensive coaches may face a dilemma – at least early in the season. The record-setting wide receivers from the past four years – Derrick Williams, Jordan Norwood, and Deon Butler – all graduated, so Clark will be throwing to a new set of receivers who don’t have much game experience. That may mean Clark will have to pull the ball down and run more often. Clark is a weapon, but he also has suffered three concussions and losing him for any extended period of time could be a disaster.

Coach Joe Paterno Press Conference 8/13/09 Part 1

Offensively, the running game should be one of this team’s strengths. Evan Royster ran for 12 hundred yards last season and is a solid threat to break a big play any time he touches the ball. Royster’s back-up Stephfon Green is even more explosive, but Paterno says Green has trouble holding onto the football when he runs, “We could put Royster in the slot because he’s a good receiver, and put Green at tailback” but then added that dream line-up was down the road and intimated Green would have to be more reliable with the ball before it would be considered.

Any offensive success could depend on whether the Lions can construct a new offensive line. Only two starters return from last season. In fact, Paterno indicated he thinks the wideouts are further along than the line going into the season. Again, the blockers have to keep tacklers off Clark for Penn State to move the ball and to keep Clark healthy.

Over the years, Penn State earned its nickname of “Linebacker U” by turning out greats like Jack Ham, LaVar Arrington, and Paul Posluszny. This season, Sean Lee could join that list of all-timers. Lee was already considered one of the best LBs in the country before suffering a season-ending injury last year. He’ll be back for one more season and be joined by last season’s leading tackler, Navorro Bowman.

Coach Joe Paterno Press Conference 8/13/09 Part 2

The defensive line is led by potential All-America tackle Jared Odrick of Lebanon. Other than Odrick, there aren’t the big name superstars on the line that Penn State has had the last few years, but at least on media day, Paterno said he wasn’t concerned about depth.

Two other areas that will get a lot of attention in the pre-season are the secondary and the kicking game. The entire defensive backfield must be replaced from last year. The Lions’ strength on the line and at linebacker may make the new cornerbacks and safeties transition easier until they get some experience under their belts. Paterno teams have traditionally been good on special teams and that’s why he’ll need to find someone to replace the Big 10’s all-time leading field goal kicker Kevin Kelly who graduated.

Penn State starts their schedule with four non-conference schools that shouldn’t provide much competition – Akron, Syracuse, Temple, and Eastern Illinois. That could leave the Nitts undefeated entering Big 10 play in October and give the youngsters some experience as they face the conference schedule. Circle November 7. That’s when Penn State host Ohio State at Beaver Stadium in a contest that could decide the Big 10 championship and maybe even who will play for the national title.