Without offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead and star running back Saquon Barkley, there are big question marks on the Penn State football team — and Athlon Sports clearly didn’t like the projected answers.
The national outlet released its preseason College Football Top 25 on Monday, and it ranked the Nittany Lions at No. 11 — a respectable ranking but one that put them behind No. 4 Ohio State, No. 5 Michigan and No. 9 Wisconsin.
Michigan State was the only other ranked conference team at No. 12. Moorhead’s Mississippi State squad was No. 14.
Athlon Sports’ Steven Lassan wrote about Penn State, “Winning the division will likely come down to how (Ricky) Rahne handles his first season as the offensive coordinator, along with how fast the defense settles into place with new faces stepping into key roles at every level.