247 Sports analyst Josh Pate – aka “Late Kick Josh” – recently completed his B1G preview entering the 2022 season.

Throughout his preview, Pate took a look at each team in the conference and expectations for programs entering the season. That included a look at Penn State where he personally believes people have been a bit too low on what he called “a really good talent roster.”

“Here’s the reality, this is a really good talent roster,” Pate explained. “Sean Clifford is a good quarterback. I didn’t say great, I didn’t say elite, I didn’t say Heisman contender, I said he’s plenty good enough to win just about every game they play.”

As for the needs of the Nittany Lions, Pate admitted the program needs the key transfer pieces to “hit” this season. That group includes receiver Mitchell Tinsley and offensive line piece Hunter Nourzad.

In the end, Pate said his model ran through Penn State’s season a number of times. According to that model, the best-case scenario for the program would be an 11-1 season with the worst-case scenario another 7-5 regular season.

Pate’s final prediction is a 9-3 season for Penn State and James Franklin in 2022. A lot of that prediction will depend on two early season road trips for the program traveling to Purdue and to Auburn.