Will Penn State and Colorado earn wins in Week 1? | Joel Klatt Show

My game, Big Noon Saturday. Here we go-- Gus, Jenny, and I are going to be in Morgantown, West Virginia. And I know that they are absolutely jacked about this. Penn State travels to West Virginia. Penn state is an 8.5-point favorite. They start this year ranked number 8 in the poll. Here's some questions-- as you know, I don't make a pick in the game that I'm going to call-- but here are some questions and themes that I just want to lay out for you as you prepare to watch this game. The first and foremost is the fact that this Penn State team has been an elite team outside of playing against Michigan and Ohio State. And one of the reasons that they have fallen short in those games is their offense just doesn't have another gear. It's fine versus the regular teams in college football, but when they get up against the elites in college football, they fall stagnant. And so that offense has got to move forward. So what did they do? They brought in a new offensive coordinator. Andy Kotelnicki comes in from Kansas, and he's going to spark this offense at Penn State. Can he unlock what I think is one of the more talented quarterbacks in the entire country, Drew Allar from Penn State? I think they need to push the ball down the field more. If you take a look at what he was doing in terms of like air yards per attempt, it's near the bottom of the Big 10. It's near the bottom of the country, and, certainly, the power five from last year, they've got to push it down the field. That's his skill set. That's what he's best at. I think that they've got some of the talent on the outside in order to do that. That's what Kansas did. And I thought Kotelnicki did a great job as their offensive coordinator unlocking that offense, in particular when they had Jalen Daniels healthy in that offense. And then on the other side, West Virginia, they were the surprise team in the Big 12 last year. There was not much expectation for West Virginia last year. In fact, if you were to rate the hot seat meter, Neal Brown, their head coach, was probably on the hottest seat in the country. And what did he do last year in the Big 12? They were picked to finish last. They won 9 games and finished sixth in the conference, including getting hot late. So this West Virginia team is coming into this season with a lot more confidence in who they are and what they are than they did even a year ago. This is a dangerous game for Penn State-- to be this highly ranked, to have this amount of expectation, be going in with not only a new offensive coordinator, but also a new defensive coordinator-- because, remember, Manny Diaz was the defensive coordinator, he moves on. He's the head coach at Duke. Tom Allen, the former head coach at Indiana, now comes in to kind of go back to his roots as a defensive coach and coordinate the defense for James Franklin and Penn State. All this newness for Penn State, and they're going to walk right into kind of a trap because that place is going to be on fire. And I cannot wait to experience it. The Mountaineer fan base is one of the great fan bases in all of college football. And they are going to be pinned on Saturday. And I'm here for it. I can't wait. West Virginia, their ability to run the ball is going to be tested, because Penn State last year had the top rush defense in the Big 10. West Virginia needs to run the football. Garrett Greene, their quarterback, had a great year last year. And their two backs, Donaldson and Jahim White, those guys can get it done on the ground. That's where the game is going to be won and lost-- Penn State's ability to stop the run and force the game onto the arm of Garrett Greene. That's what I'll be watching for from the booth. Abdul Carter, the defensive edge player, moves from linebacker to edge for Penn State, he's one of the elite pass rushers in our sport. Penn State led the country in sacks a year ago with Chop Robinson and Adisa Isaac. Now, they've got Danny Sutton, they've got Abdul Carter. They feel like they've got an elite pass rush, but it's going to need to prove itself. And then finally, for Penn State, it's, can you get that run game going along with the downfield passing attack? Can one help the other? Can you get the run game going in order to help yourself throw the ball down the field? Nick Singleton, he's coming back. He's a big play threat, obviously. Kaytron Allen, those backs-- they are really good players. Wide receiver for Penn State is going to be a question. Remember, they got Ohio State transfer and Pennsylvania native Julian Fleming from the Buckeyes. So he comes in, and he's going to be paired with Trey Wallace, or Harrison Wallace. Trey Wallace is a really talented guy that has missed time in each of the last two seasons, and they feel like he's going to break out and be one of the best wide receivers in the country. So I can't wait for this game. I cannot wait for this game. Again, Penn State 8.5-point favorite on the road at West Virginia. Big Noon Kickoff, big Noon Saturday, we're going to be there and we're getting things ready to rock. Thursday night, North Dakota State at Colorado. Colorado is a 9.5-point favorite. Prime bringing his bunch in, and they will be much-improved from what they were a year ago. If you've listened to this show for the course of this preseason and leadup to the regular season, you know that I'm high on Colorado. And it's not just because I went there. I think there's reason to be high on Colorado. Namely, I think they've got one of, if not the best, quarterback in their conference in Shedeur Sanders-- maybe the best quarterback in the country, maybe the top pick in the draft. They've also got a guy that I think can be, in a lot of ways should be considered the best non-quarterback in college football, and that's Travis Hunter because of what he does in a variety of different ways. This guy is, I think, in the conversation for the top corner in the sport, along with guys like Will Johnson, and the top wide receiver in the sport just because of what he can do. So his impact is going to be giant. We saw that early in last season. And if he can stay healthy, then watch out for Colorado. Meanwhile, North Dakota State-- watch out for the Bison. They won 9 of the last 13 FCS national championships. Now, they did that with Craig Bohl, Chris Kleiman, and Matt Entz. All of those head coaches have since moved on. Matt Entz, of course, joining the staff at USC on the defensive side of the ball. North Dakota State is going to start the preseason in the FCS ranked number 2. They lost in the semifinals a year ago, and this is a team that's going to be really good. This is going to be an incredibly tough game for Colorado. This is not a pushover whatsoever. And I believe it's going to be a very close game. North Dakota State was fourth in the FCS in rushing last year with over 235 total yards. So this rebuilt defensive line for Colorado will be tested right away. Their quarterback, the Bison's quarterback, Cam Miller, he started 25 games in his career. So he's an experienced guy. Now, they lost their two best wide receivers, but that run game largely comes back. They can also use a second quarterback, Cole Payton-- he's 6'3, 230 pounds, and ran for 600 yards last year. So this run game is going to be potent. And I think Colorado is going to have to buckle it up and see what they really have on the defensive side of the ball, in particular up front. North Dakota State defense was top-20 last year, but this offense for Colorado is better. We know that. We know when they're playing to their potential that they're going to put up a lot of points, they're going to gain a lot of yards. Colorado started hot last year. We'll see where they go. A couple of things that I'm very interested in seeing from the Colorado side-- the rebuilt offensive line. Five new starters, including Jordan Seaton, one of the top recruits in the country last year-- chose Colorado in part to be part of the rebuild up front. My contention is that this offensive line doesn't have to be great. They just have to be better. And those are two very different things. Last year, Colorado gave up 52 sacks. 52. That's an astonishing amount. If they give up 30 sacks, which, by the way, is still not good-- but 30 sacks is 22 fewer sacks. That's 22 more opportunities to push the ball down the field. That's 22 more opportunities to convert on third down. That's 22 more opportunities to get the ball into the red zone and potentially score. That translates and, in my estimation, into victories. That's what I'll be watching for. And then a guy that's getting not much pub, but Buckeye fans who listen to this show, they're going to, as soon as I say this name, they're going to be like, yep, this guy is totally underrated. Dallan Hayden, the transfer running back who comes into Colorado to potentially get the run game going, which was virtually nonexistent a year ago, that's going to be interesting for me. 9.5-point favorite is too much for Colorado. I believe that they win a close game, fairly high scoring, at least for week one-- 35-28, Colorado wins the game. North Dakota State covers.