Pitt 5.5 point favorites: Have PSU fans given up the ghost for '16?



... an interesting matchup to juice up the rivalry 

As leaves drop from the trees in an early fall in Pa., football fans are eagerly looking forward to the battle between Penn State and Pitt.

The interesting part of what I am reading today is that many Nittany Lion fans are saying things like, "Pitt may get us this year because of the sanctions, but after that, we will win three in a row."

Are the Lions waving the white flags already? Granted, they have struggled in the past two years under James Franklin. They now have a better grasp on what he is doing, although his game coaching is still something to be desired.

Pitt loss of WR

The Panthers of second-year Coach Pat Narduzzi lost a great weapon in wide receiver Tyler Boyd who caught 254 passes for 3,361 yards and 21 TDs in his three years at Pitt. That amounted to 13.2 yards per catch. He also ran the ball 63 times for 520 yards and one touchdown.

Overall, Boyd had 317 touches for 3,881 yards and 22 TDs, 12.2 yards per touch.

Boyd is now a wideout for the dreaded Cincinatti Bengals, and he caught one pass for 40 yards for them in their preseason opener.

Christian Hackenberg

Although some PSU fans may differ, losing the leading passer in history will mean that they have lost 8,457 yards of offense in three years. He completed 693 of 1,235 passes for 47 touchdowns.

The problem with Hackenberg the past two years was coaching, not production. After an outstanding true freshman season under former Coach Bill O'Brien, who is now the head coach of the Houston Texans, Hackenberg regressed significantly under Franklin and now departed offensive coordinator John Donovan. He is now a project for the New York Jets who look at him as a QB for the future.

Running backs returning

Penn State has an outstanding running back in sophomore Saquon Barkley. The Big Ten Network says that Barkley "has legs that look like tree trunks and an overall physique that is NFL-ready."

Barkley had a breakout year for the Lions in 2015 that included 82 carries for 1,076 yards [5.9/carry] and seven touchdowns. He is also a threat out of the backfield and caught 20 passes for 161 yards [8.1 yards per catch] and one touchdown.

Barkley had 202 touches for 1,237 yards and eight TDs despite missing two games because of injury.

His marquee performance last year was against the OSU Buckeyes when he carried the ball 26 times for 194 yards.

If the line blocks for him, he may be something special in the future.

Conner and Ollison

Pitt junior James Conner has a devastating season in 2015. However, the good news is that he declared in May that he was cancer-free. That was a tremendous accomplishment for a player who played just one game last year before ripping up his knee.

Conner had a sensational sophomore season in 2014. He carried the ball 298 times for 1,765 yards and 26 TDs in 2014, enabling him to earn first team All-American honors along with the coveted ACC Player of the Year.

In December of last year, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and you had to wonder how an athlete could have such rotten luck.

Conner still went out for spring practice despite having chemotherapy at the time.

Rising to the challenge to replace Conner was redshirt freshman Qadree Ollison. He carried the ball 212 times for 1,121 yards and 11 TDs.

Ollison also caught 14 passes for 77 yards and one TD.

Pitt QB

Pitt QB Nate Peterman returns after passing for 2,287 yards and 20 touchdowns. He connected on 193 of 313 passes for a QB rating of 139.

Penn State will have a new QB and a new offensive coordinator, Joe Moorhead, who had previously been the head coach for Fordham, a step down from Div. I. Redshirt sophomore Trace McSorley will begin as QB after playing backup to Christian Hackenberg.

McSorley played in six games last year, completing 20 of 40 passes for 185 yards and two TDs.

The Penn State-Pitt matchup will take place on Sept. 10 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.

[The odds may be below 5.5, but I have not seen that yet.]

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