Penn State's Beaver Stadium named toughest road environment in preseason poll
Penn State head coach James Franklin and multiple players will head to Indianapolis later today for Big Ten Media Days. New Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti will kick off media day tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. ET. Franklin will then be the fifth coach to take the podium. He’s scheduled for approximately 12:00 p.m. eastern time. Fans can watch everything on Big Ten Network.
The arrival of media days also brings a bevy of preseason awards and polls. In addition to season results, players of the year and much more, Cleveland.com also polled 37 media members from each Big Ten school on the toughest road environment. Penn State’s Beaver Stadium won convincingly, earning 17 first-place votes. That was “almost double the runner-up” as Ohio State took second. Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium was third with seven votes, followed by Michigan (3) and Wisconsin (1).
“The best TEAMS make stadiums tough venues. However, for my money, Penn State has the loudest stadium in the Big Ten. A night game there is ridiculous. A White Out is a night game on steroids,” wrote one anonymous voter.
Where does Penn State rank in Big Ten preseason poll?
Cleveland.com also released its preseason poll for the Big Ten Conference. The Nittany Lions are a dark horse candidate to win it all this season in some circles. However, the consensus still has Franklin’s team ranked third in its division.
With Michigan coming off back-to-back Big Ten championships, the Wolverines earned the most overall points in the East Division, including 27 first-place votes. Ohio State is second with eight, followed by the Nittany Lions with two.
In the west, the media is split on both Wisconsin and Iowa. The Badgers received 20 first-place votes, although the Hawkeyes aren’t far behind with 16. Media members were also asked to pick their matchup for the Big Ten Championship game. One media member chose the Nittany Lions vs. Iowa, while another chose Penn State vs. Wisconsin.
Below is the complete preseason poll.
Big Ten East
1) Michigan (248 points, 27 first-place votes
2) Ohio State (226, 8)
3) Penn State (192, 2)
4) Maryland (143)
5) Michigan State (105)
6) Rutgers (74)
7) Indiana (48)
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Big Ten West
1) Wisconsin (233 points, 20 first-place votes)
2) Iowa (232, 16)
3) Minnesota (176, 1)
4) Illinois (152)
5) Nebraska (116)
6) Purdue (89)
7) Northwestern (38)
Multiple Penn State players earn votes for Player of the Year
Penn State brings back plenty of talent on both sides of the ball this fall, so it should be no surprise that the Nittany Lions had players on both offense and defense earn votes for Player of the Year.
On offense, Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. was the runaway winner for Offensive Player of the Year with 94 total points, including 27 first-place votes. For Penn State, running back Nick Singleton and offensive tackle Olu Fashanu were among the 11 total players who earned votes. Singleton finished tied for fifth with six votes, while Fashanu was tied for eighth with two votes.
Defensively, the Nittany Lions had three players who earned votes. Iowa defensive back Cooper DeJean took home the top spot, although it was close between him and Illinois defensive lineman Jer’Zhan Newton. Penn State cornerback Kalen King, linebacker Abdul Carter and edge rusher Chop Robinson finished fifth through seventh, respectively. King earned the most total points between them with 22, although Carter totaled five first-place votes and 20 points total. Robinson was seventh with three first-place votes and 13 points total.
