Penn State Football Has a Big 12 Problem That Needs to be Answered

If there's one thing to look out for this season with Penn State, it's the fact that it has one of the easiest schedules in the country.

At the same time, I think it's very important that we look at what history has to say about everything. Ultimately, as I've said plenty of times now, there's no debate that Penn State has a chance to make the College Football Playoff next season. 

My only question for the Nittany Lions is whether they actually have a chance to be a decent team, given how things looked at times at Iowa State. Competing in the Big 12 is very different from competing in the Big Ten, which a writer recently noted, and I simply can't disagree.

“Matt Campbell couldn’t have gotten a kinder welcome into the Big Ten. If USC drew the Big Ten’s schedule of doom, then Penn State got the boon.

“No Ohio State on Penn State’s schedule. No Indiana or Oregon, either. The nonconference schedule is a cupcake feast. This collection of opponents is built for playoff contention. Campbell used the en vogue move of a first-year coach bringing in a cavalcade of players from his previous job. His first team might as well be called the CyLions, because it’s loaded with former Iowa State Cyclones, including veteran quarterback Rocco Becht. That all sounds pretty ideal, until you consider: The Cyclones went 8-4 last year. Solid, especially on defense, but not national championship-level good. They're a Hail Mary for glory,” Blake Toppmeyer wrote.

There's a lot that has to go on for Penn State over the next few months for us to get a really good feel for how it looks.

I think Penn State can be a very good team, and I have a strong feeling that things will go well. However, I still think it's important to question how everything will go. That's part of why I'm a bit more skeptical than others.