Penn State Nittany Lions Basketball Tickets

Penn State capped off a solid 9-4 season with a victory over the Tennessee Volunteers in the Outback Bowl.

One of the biggest things that happened all season was head coach Joe Paterno being run into on the sideline by a player and breaking his leg. The broken leg forced Paterno to spend the rest of the season in the coaches box for fear that another such injury could occur.

Penn State will get a break this year with a fairly easy schedule. Their two toughest games will be at Michigan and home against Ohio State. Their out of conference schedule is a joke, with the toughest game being at home against Notre Dame, which lost almost its entire offense from a year ago.

The biggest loss from last season will have to be running back Tony Hunt, who was more substance than style and gave the Nittany Lions a hard-nosed running back to wear down opposing defenses.

The other major loss is linebacker Paul Posluszny, who was the heart and soul of a defense that kept Penn State in many games the past few seasons despite an offense that often struggled. Posluszny also managed to win several awards as the nation's top linebacker.

Penn State will also have to deal with the loss of their senior signal-caller, Anthony Morelli. Morelli only had 11 touchdowns last season but was a solid leader who usually made smart decisions and took good care of the football.

The team needs wide receiver Derrick Williams to step up this year. Williams showed incredible skills during an outstanding freshman season but has battled injuries and inconsistency ever since. He can really help out whoever ends up winning the battle for the starting quarterback position, which has to be a major concern.

If Penn State can find a solution at quarterback, they could compete for a Big 10 title, especially taking into consideration how easy their schedule is. Their defense is certainly strong enough even with the loss of Posluszny and should keep them in pretty much every game, but it's going to come down to whether or not they can make enough plays on offense, which has been a recurring theme in recent years.