For Penn State fans, the opening week of the college football season is finally here. It's been a long off-season that for most, must have seemed like an eternity, because of all the preseason hype surrounding the program.

At noon, today (ABC), all the guessing and prognosticating is over as the Nittany Lions will take the field at Beaver Stadium for the opener against MAC opponent Akron. Both the Amway Coaches Poll and AP Poll have Penn State ranked at No. 6 in the country, with some pundits predicting another Big Ten championship, and a college football playoff berth. But as I noted, the time has now come for Penn State to forget about the preseason hype and show everyone around the country the product on the field.In 2016, Akron had some struggles, going 5-7, losing its last four games of the season. No better way to try and get "off the Schneid" than by facing off with a highly-touted PSU bunch on the road, right? The Zips will need a lot to go right for them and they will need a lot to go wrong for Penn State to stay in this one.Before we get into the breakdown of the game, I want to address a few other things. First off, in the last two or three years writing this column, almost every game I talked about, I mentioned how the play of the offensive line would either give Penn State a chance to win or it would simply lose it the game. That was the case whether it was playing a team like Akron or much more established programs like Michigan or Ohio State. The offensive line at times looked that bad.The offensive line group was by far the weakest unit on the team and it showed in Christian Hackenberg's sophomore and junior seasons and at times last season, even though injuries played a big role in that for last season with tackles Andrew Nelson and Brendan Mahon missing significant time. However, in 2017 the Penn State offensive line is expected to not only be a strength, but to be one of the best offensive line groups in the Big Ten. I just want everyone to think about that for a second, because I think sometimes the offensive line experience and talent has gone unnoticed with all the hype surrounding Saquon Barkley, Trace McSorley, and the receivers.The expected improved play of the offensive line this season is why I have Penn State repeating as Big Ten champs and getting into the College Football Playoff. Just again, take one second and think about what Saquon Barkley has been able to do over the past two seasons with an average offensive line at best. If Barkley actually has holes to run through and guys setting their blocks on the edge, literally the sky is the limit for this Penn State offense. Barkley with running room and McSorley with time to throw the football is a dangerous combination that will be tough for any team in the country to stop.Connor McGovern (C), Brendan Mahon (RG), Steven Gonzalez (LG), Chasz Wright (RT), and Ryan Bates (LT) are expected to be the starting offensive line unit this afternoon for the Nittany Lions."I think our offensive line situation has changed dramatically since we arrived till now. I still think we have a lot of room for growth there, and that's exciting, because if you look at us, we're still pretty young," said Penn State head coach James Franklin. "We've got a sophomore at left tackle, a sophomore at left guard, a sophomore at center. Got some maturity at the right guard position and then a junior at the right tackle position. So, we're still young, but I like where we're at. I like our depth. I like our growth at that position and I feel like we do have confidence there. Especially comparatively speaking over the last couple years."Establishing the run will be key for Penn State early against the Zips, as it will be vital to get Barkley (2016 - 1,496 yards rushing, 18TDs) going early against all its opponents this season. The problems start right there for the Zips, who surrendered 224.7 rushing yards per game a season ago. An improved Nittany Lions offensive line and a lackluster front four for Akron is the right recipe for a 200-yard rushing day for Saquon Barkley.Akron also had some issues defending the pass, mostly because it couldn't get any pressure on the quarterback. In 2016, the Zips ranked last in the MAC at sacking the quarterback with just 16. McSorley will have a host of talented Nittany Lions' pass catchers to work with in Juwan Johnson (WR), DeAndre Thompkins (WR), DaeSean Hamilton (WR), Mike Gesicki (TE), Saeed Blacknall (WR), Irving Charles (WR), and Brandon Polk (WR). Johnson, Thompkins, and Hamilton will get the starting nod today with the other guys mentioned rotating in and out, especially Blacknall.An interesting thing to keep an eye will be the front four for the Nittany Lions as they replace defensive ends Garret Sickels and Evan Schwan. Torrence Brown and Shareef Miller, who have played a lot of football in their time at Penn State will be the anchors there this season.Getting pressure on Akron quarterback Thomas Woodson will be key. Woodson has a solid arm and had success last season, throwing for 2,079 yards and 18 touchdowns before a shoulder injury ended his year. I think if Akron has any success offensively it will come in the passing game as It will be tough for it to run the football against the middle of Nittany Lions defense with Parker Cothren and Curtin Cothran as well as Kevin Givens lurking at the defensive tackle positions. Also, Akron averaged just 132.2 yards on the ground last season.As noted, the wait is over. There's no doubt that this year's Penn State squad is talented, deep, and motivated. The question is will they let the Zips hang around and get off to a slow start like in year's past early in the season or are they as good as advertised?A team the quality of Penn State should do what great teams do to inferior opponents and that's come out and execute and blow the doors off that team right from the onset. I believe the Nittany Lions will do just that.Las Vegas has Penn State as a 30.5-point favorite. My pick is Penn State 49, Akron 13.