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247 Sports analyst Josh Pate projects 11-1 as Penn State’s ‘most likely record’

Paul Harvey

By Paul Harvey

Published:

247 Sports analyst Josh Pate is high on Penn State entering the 2023 season. In fact, he projects 11-1 as the “most likely record scenario” for James Franklin’s program.

In the breakdown of his expectations, Pate included Drew Allar as a big reason he is high on the Nittany Lions. He pointed to the fact Allar is not a true freshman quarterback after getting his feet wet a season ago.

“The most likely record scenario I think for Penn State this year is 11-1, I’m actually sky-high on Penn State this year,” said Pate. “So best case, 12-0, not that far from it…

“Drew Allar, though be it still green, is not brand-new to this. He’s not a true freshman. He played in 10 games last year, and to come in in Week 1… so he was thrown in immediately and played so well that there was a little bit of a controversy behind the scenes in the Penn State fan community.”

As for the other factor behind his assessment, Pate predicts Penn State will win at least one of the matchups between Ohio State and Michigan. Both games could go either way, but Pate believes the team is equipped to win at least one of them.

“I think they’re gonna win one of the big two. I think they’re either going to go into Columbus (and) upset Ohio State, or I think they’ll beat Michigan at home,” Pate explained. “Certainly capable of winning both, capable of losing both, I’m splitting the difference.”

As for Penn State’s outlook, the Nittany Lions maintain the No. 3 spot in the preseason Big Ten Championship odds. The Nittany Lions trail only Ohio State and Michigan entering the season, so it would not be out of the realm of possibility to see Penn State pull off an upset or two.

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.