Penn State football starts in just a couple of weeks, and after last season’s unexpected success, I’m thirsting for more. I’m not sure if Joe-pa’s boys can repeat their Big-Ten championship season, but I’m still excited. They lost a lot of great players on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball, but with their fantastic recruiting over the past few years, they have a good chance to fill those vacancies successfully. Here are some of the questions that face the Nits this season:

Quarterback – Michael Robinson became an amazing team leader last season, and was a big reason this team finished third in the country. The offense was very similar to the one that Texas ran en-route to a national championship. Anthony Morelli replaces Robinson, and my guess is this offense won’t look the same. Morelli does not have the quickness Robinson had, but he does have a stronger arm, and with the fast receivers (possibly the quickest Penn State has ever had), this might resemble the 1994 offense more – let’s hope!

Offensive Line – Levi Brown is really the only returning starter to an offensive line that shined for the blue-and-white last season. However, Penn State has a lot of big recruits ready to fill in. Hopefully, the rushing attack of Austin Scott and Tony Hunt can continue to excel. The receivers need to get open, and the tight-end might play a bigger role this season.

Defensive Line – The defensive line lost some valuable players last season as well. When you lose a player like Tamba Hali, it is hard to expect the line to be the same as last season. This line played extremely well, as was evidenced in the Ohio State and Florida State games. However, PSU might have the best linebacking group in the league and that should be a big plus as well.

There are certainly other question marks on this squad, but these are the big three I’m targeting. Hopefully, the young guys are up to the challenge to step up, as they have two monstrous games in September – one against Notre Dame on September 9, and the other against the highly regarded Buckeyes on September 23 – both on the road. A split, and a BCS could be in PSU’s future. If, by some dumb luck, Penn State can win both, it might be time to talk National Title. I guess we’ll see soon enough.