In another one of those mostly meaningless offseason things to keep us busy, CBS Sports rolled out a list of top teams in each state. I was interested to see if they were bold enough to pick Pitt in Pennsylvania.
They weren't.
Pennsylvania: Penn State -- It would be nice if the head-to-head method for picking between the Nittany Lions and their old rivals at Pitt would hurry up and make its return already. Until then: Pat Narduzzi was a great hire, and the Panthers have some talented returning players in James Conner and Tyler Boyd. But the Nittany Lions have Christian Hackenberg, perhaps the nation's most underrated defensive coordinator in Bob Shoop, and a schedule that could have them favored in as many as 10 games. We'll take PSU, the standard bearer in the state.
Penn State topped the Panthers, although CBS Sports did note the offensive talent of James Conner and Tyler Boyd and said it'd be great if they could play on the field. That won't happen until 2016, obviously, but it got me to thinking as well. Is Penn State really going to be a better team than Pitt this season?
The Nittany Lions have an easier non-conference slate. Penn State will face Temple, San Diego State, Buffalo, and Army. Pitt, meanwhile, will face Notre Dame, Iowa, Youngstown State, and Akron. In conference, Penn State's schedule looks more difficult, though, with teams such as Ohio State, Michigan State, and Michigan. For the record, FBSchedules.com has the two schedules ranking nearly identical to each other overall, with Penn State just a few slots higher.
We won't know until later who has the better team, and even then, we may not know. But for now, what do you think? Who has the better team for 2015? Personally, I'd like Pitt's chances with James Conner and Tyler Boyd, but defensively, we also have no idea how the Panthers will respond this season and that would be a big question mark against the Nittany Lions.
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