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5 things to watch in the Penn State-Appalachian State game

Penn State opens its 2018 season at 3:30 p.m. Saturday against Appalachian State. Here are the five things you should keep an eye on.

Debut of Penn State’s true freshmen

The talent in this class is nearly unprecedented and, with the NCAA’s new redshirt rule, James Franklin could test out a number of new faces Saturday.

We know we’ll likely see at least seven true freshmen, as the head coach said earlier in the week that he plans to play them an awful lot this season: Linebackers Micah Parsons and Jesse Luketa, kickers Jake Pinegar and Rafael Checa, defensive tackle PJ Mustipher, running back Ricky Slade and tight end Pat Freiermuth.