For the seventh consecutive season, Penn State will open Big Ten play on the road, making it 12 of the last 13 seasons the Nittany Lions have opened conference play away from the comfy confines of Beaver Stadium.

It’s also the second straight season Penn State will start the year against a Big Ten opponent, having gone to Madison, Wisconsin in 2021. So, for all the naysayers who say Penn State isn’t challenged enough away from State College every season - mostly Notre Dame fans from Summit Hill (just kidding, I like going to the ND tailgate every year up there) - the proof is in the numbers.

All kidding aside, the Nittany Lions - who are looking to get back to their winning ways after back-to-back subpar campaigns - have a tough test ahead of them tonight in West Lafayette, Indiana as they will face off with the always dangerous Purdue Boilermakers (8 p.m. EST, FOX).

From the start, this game is going to come down to two things. Is Penn State improved in the run game, and can a talented Nittany Lions secondary keep Purdue quarterback Aidan O’Connell in check?

I think Penn State has a significant edge in talent over Purdue, besides the two question marks I mentioned above. So, let’s first start off with the Nittany Lions run game, which ranked 118th in the country last season. The only team worse in the Big Ten at running the football was the Boilermakers.

Keyvone Lee returns after rushing for 530 yards last season, but highly-recruited freshmen Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen will be the new faces of the PSU rushing attack. Singleton and Allen have been the buzz of the summer session and bring back that game-breaking ability that the Penn State rushing game has been lacking. Lee, Singleton and Allen figure to form a solid trio that should see success in Week One against a Purdue front that gave up almost 160 yards per game on the ground last season.

But none of that matters unless improvements are made by the offensive line in the run-blocking department. If you ask me, I think this is a talented group of offensive linemen. It’s a big, long and athletic group that were all highly-ranked recruits, but that’s been the case for the most part over the past five-to-seven years at Penn State, and the offensive line continues to be an issue. It’s been such an issue over the past two seasons that I think it’s the direct cause of the Nittany Lions going 11-11 over their last two campaigns. The offensive line needs to be more physical, nasty and tenacious when it comes to blocking in the run game. Think Wisconsin, Iowa … etc. The talent is there, but the road-grader mentality just hasn’t been there as of late.

That brings us to the second thing Penn State must do later tonight in order to give itself a chance at victory - and that is to slow down second team All-Big Ten quarterback Aidan O’Connell and the Boilermakers passing attack. Purdue ranked fifth nationally in passing offense at 355.4 yards per game in 2021, but this isn’t the same group that O’Connell had to work with last season, as he lost his top two pass catchers and tight end (due to injury) from that explosive unit. Payne Durham, who caught 45 passes for 467 yards and six touchdowns, returns as well as King Doerue at running back after posting 533 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

The good news for the Nittany Lions is that one of their strongest units on the team this season is their secondary. Joey Porter Jr. and Kalen King return at cornerback, as well as safety Ji’Ayir Brown. That group should serve as a tough matchup for O’Connell, especially with his lesser-proven weapons. Brown was especially impressive last season, collecting 73 tackles, six interceptions, five pass breakups and one forced fumble.

I don’t think PSU can totally shut down the Purdue passing game because that’s what the Boilermakers do best, but if the Nittany Lions can force Purdue to run the football more than it would like, the Penn State offense could be in store for a lot of extra offensive possessions.

“I think that’s probably the biggest thing that I think we’re going into this game with, is with the mentality and understanding that we are going to have to be able to stop the vertical passing game and the shots down the field,” said Penn State head coach James Franklin. “They just do a really good job at taking shots, and we know that’s going to be a big part of what they do.”

Penn State is currently a 3.5 point favorite. As noted, being able to run the football consistently and keeping O’Connell uncomfortable in the passing game are going to be the points of emphasis for Penn State coming into tonight, and I think they will be able to execute in those facets of this game.

Even if the offensive line is somewhat improved, my belief is that Singleton’s explosiveness will create some big plays and give Sean Clifford the ability to take shots down the field in the passing game. I also like the matchup of Penn State’s defensive front against the Purdue offensive line unit. Adisa Isaac returns from injury, “Chop” Robinson comes in from the transfer portal from Maryland, Nick Tarburton returns, top recruit Dani Dennis-Sutton will be out there and, most importantly, defensive tackle PJ Mustipher returns from injury. This is a group that could be special this season and that, I think, will disrupt O’Connell’s pocket tonight.

Look for a big-chunk run early from Singleton to give the Penn State faithful a collective sigh of relief for the run game tonight.

My pick is: Penn State 31, Purdue 21.