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After roughly 30 weeks of anticipation, here are some things to keep a close eye in the Nittany Lions' Saturday opener with West Virginia (7:30 p.m., NBC) at Beaver Stadium:
n Let's start with the offensive line, which this week officially absorbed the loss of guard Landon Tengwall, who confirmed his football career is over due to injuries. Oddly, Tengwall was hurt during pre-game warm-ups last year at Michigan and never recovered. The staff has been preparing for his absence so look for the combination of J.B. Nelson and Vega Ioane to replace him.
n Even without Tengwall, the line is being viewed -- we'll see -- as a team strength, anchored by left tackle Olu Fashanu.
n Expect West Virginia to gang up on Penn State's run game and attempt to force Drew Allar, making his first start, to win the game through the air. It should be an interesting contrast since the Lions are intent on not asking Allar to do too much at this stage and will want to emphasize their ground game anyway.
n Penn State's special teams are a huge question mark, maybe the team's biggest. James Franklin has taken to not confirming starters so Saturday will reveal the No. 1 placekicker (Sander Sahaydak or Columbia transfer Alex Felkins) and punter (Florida Atlantic transfer Riley Thompson or Alex Bacchetta). They're also breaking in a new snapper since Chris Stoll signed as an NFL free agent and stuck with Seattle.
n It sounds as if the offseason priority of finding a No. 3 receiver behind KeAndre Lambert-Smith and Trey Wallace is still ongoing.
n In at least a mild revelation, it was disclosed this week that offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich will call the game from the coaches' booth upstairs after two years on the field. Yurcich dismissed an advantage when asked during the preseason, saying practice is always called from ground level, but he and Franklin apparently decided to change it up.
n The Lions' defense is supposed to be a beast, and it will be surprising if the best player on it is anyone other than linebacker Abdul Carter.
n Just as cornerback Kalen King got a lot of action since teams generally went away from Joey Porter Jr., now that King has established himself, WVU and other opponents will probably test Johnny Dixon more often.
n The depth on the defensive line is another strength with Franklin ticking off a half-dozen interior linemen expected to contribute between ends Chop Robinson, Adisa Isaac and Dani Dennis-Sutton.
n If the Lions are fortunate enough to have a comfortable lead in the second half, it would be a good idea to get backup quarterback Beau Pribula some action to build positional depth.
n Good move by Pat Kraft to tab Tom Bradley as tonight's honorary captain, and expect a huge ovation. Other than Joe Paterno, Bradley was on the PSU sideline longer than anyone. In addition to being a great guy, Bradley did an excellent job as an assistant coach and was a recruiting whiz. Plus he's the last PSU head coach (interim) to win in Columbus, having done so in 2011.
n For those who enjoy our weekly Penn State Gameday preview tabloid - hopefully all of you -- we're sorry to report that health issues are precluding Frank Giardina from contributing his national viewpoints. Frank is being replaced by Jim Caltagirone.
n Nebraska can boast one of the most supportive and classiest fan bases in the country, and that surely was on display Wednesday night. The Cornhuskers set a world attendance record for a women's sporting event as 92,003 packed Memorial Stadium to see the volleyball team defeat Omaha. Very cool.
Rudel can be reached at nrudel@altoonamirror.com. You can also follow him on Twitter@neilrudel.