Penn State’s 133rd season of college football will kick off later this afternoon when it takes on Idaho (3:30 p.m. ET, BTN) in what is another highly-anticipated season of Nittany Lions football.

Heading into preseason camp, there was a host of important storylines leading up to the opener against the Vandals, but none more important than head coach James Franklin finding a replacement for three-year starting quarterback Trace McSorley. Redshirt sophomore Sean Clifford was the presumed favorite to take over the role with Tommy Stevens transferring to Mississippi State in the spring, but Coach Franklin announced at the beginning of camp that it would be a two-way battle between Clifford and redshirt freshman Will Levis. The talk around State College is that Levis really worked hard to put himself in the mix both with his skillset and physically. Physically, Levis is impressive at 6-3 229 pounds.

Last Friday, to nobody’s surprise, Penn State did release via social media that Clifford will be QB No. 1. Clifford came into Happy Valley as a highly-ranked prospect. According to 247sports, he was a four-star rated player, ranked in the top 200 and was the eighth ranked pro-style quarterback in the country.

Clifford also made the most of his opportunities last season when he was able to get in. He was 5-of-7 for 195 yards and two touchdowns, including completing the longest pass play in school history to Daniel George against Kent State. The two connected for a 95-yard score late in a blowout (63-10) victory over the Golden Flashes.

“For us, very similar to when we named Trace [McSorley] the starting quarterback. The experience factored in. You’ve got an older guy who played in games, and really had competed like crazy and done everything that he needed to do from the time the season ended,” said Franklin. “But Will did as well. Will is very, very talented and has got a very, very bright future. But I think when it’s close like that, you’re always going to go with the older, more experienced player, and that’s really what Sean is, and he has done a great job.”

So, it’s safe to say that all eyes will be on the quarterback and the offense come this afternoon, and rightfully so, as the offense does have some questions to answer. The two main questions kind-of go hand in hand. Will Clifford be able to lead a Penn State offense that has the potential to be explosive with a bevy of talented skill players all over the place? Also, can the offensive line take the next step this season and give a young inexperienced quarterback the time he needs to make plays downfield?

The offensive line, which has held Penn State back from truly contending for a College Football Playoff berth over the past two seasons will once again be key in 2019. Both Ryan Bates and Connor McGovern have moved onto the NFL, leaving a hole at guard and left tackle. Redshirt freshman Rasheed Walker will start at left tackle and is the most athletically skilled prospect they’ve had there in many years, but he lacks experience. At guard, a trio of experienced players will all rotate throughout the season at both guard spots in graduate senior Steven Gonzalez and redshirt sophomores Mike Miranda and CJ Thorpe. Will Fries returns at right tackle and Michal Menet returns at center.

The Penn State offensive line undoubtedly has the talent, it’s just about gaining confidence early and carrying that throughout the season.

“I think the biggest thing is instilling confidence in those guys, continuing to build depth,” said Franklin. “I do think we have a little bit more depth than we’ve had in the past in terms of guys that we think are game ready.”

Now onto Idaho. The Vandals made the jump down to FCS competition last season and it didn’t necessarily go very well with them finishing at 4-7. The Vandals big issue was their defense as they gave up 38 points per game and they particularly struggled against the pass, which could bode well for a young quarterback, making his first career start.

Clifford will have no shortage of weapons in freshman All Americans Pat Freirmuth (TE) and KJ Hamler (WR) along with highly-touted wide receiver recruit Justin Shorter (6-4 235), who is now fully healthy and local product Jahan Dotson out of Nazareth that showed some flashes of big play ability in the second half of last season. Add to that a talented foursome at running back in Ricky Slade, Journey Brown and the two blue-chip true freshmen in Noah Cain and Devyn Ford. I’ve been saying it all summer long, if the offensive line clicks early, this offense could be very special.

What really has people excited about the 2019 Penn State squad is its defense – maybe the most talented, fast and long defense in over a decade in Happy Valley. There are game-changers at every level of the Nittany Lions defense in Yetur Gross-Matos (DE, 20 TFL, 8.0 sacks), Robert Windsor (DT, 7.5 sacks) Micah Parsons (freshman All-American, led team in tackles), John Reid (CB) and Garrett Taylor (S).

What will give the Nittany Lions a chance in every game this season is its defensive line and the speed it possesses. Penn State has steadfast veterans in Gross-Matos and Windsor but has a host of breakout candidates with size and speed in Shaka Toney (DE), Shane Simmons (DE), Jayson Oweh (DE), and Antonio Shelton (DT).

As a defense in 2018, Penn State came through with 107 tackles for loss and 47 sacks, which was near tops in the country. I think the Nittany Lions “D” can be even more disruptive in 2019 and opening with a team that scored just 24 points per game a season ago could get them going in that very direction.

My pick is Penn State 56, Idaho 3.