UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Football fans spend 99.999 percent of their time thinking and talking about their team's offense and defense.
Penn State's biggest win in the last 30-plus years came down to special teams.
If the Nittany Lions are going to reach their goals and live up to the hype this season, you can bet that, at some point, it's going to come down to a big special teams moment.
We can say, with great confidence, that the defense should be fantastic this season. One of the best units in the country.
There are more questions about the offense -- namely Drew Allar's level of play and what we'll see from the wide receivers -- but for the most part, that unit is still expected to be very good.
The special teams? We have absolutely no idea, since the Lions have to replace starters at all the key positions.
While that might not be a big deal with regards to winning 10 games this year -- you know, the games Penn State will be favored in and will have more talent in -- you gotta think that, a win over Ohio State or Michigan almost certainly will require a big special teams play. Maybe even a GIGANTIC special teams play.
"This is a very, very good special teams conference," Penn State's special teams coordinator, Stacy Collins, said on media day.
I'll go back once again to something I've mentioned several times: Penn State shocked Ohio State in 2016 thanks to a great special teams play of its own, but ALSO because Urban Meyer made a terrible decision trying to rush a long field late in the play clock.
If Meyer would have punted, Ohio State would have won. If Meyer would have called timeout to give his kicker a little more time on the play, Ohio State might have won -- even if the guy had missed the kick.
The one thing Penn State needed to happen actually did happen -- a blocked kick returned for a score. In perhaps any other scenario, the Lions probably would have lost.
Anyway, back to this year's team ...
Place-kicker Jake Pinegar is gone. He wasn't great in college but was experienced, at least, and made 12 of 16 field goals last year. The team should -- that's should -- be able to find a more reliable kicker than Pinegar, but you just never know. If the Lions have to trot somebody out to make a big kick against Ohio State or Michigan, that guy will have never attempted a kick under that kind of pressure.
Punter Barney Amor also is gone. He averaged 44.3 yards last season, getting off to a strong start before fading some late. There's talent at this position in the program, so you'd think the team can find someone to be as good or better than Amor.
The long snapper, Chris Stoll, is gone. If you want to overlook this departure and say, oh, he's just a snapper, remember that James Franklin praised Stoll time and time again over the years. Stoll won a national award for long snappers last year and is in the NFL with the Seahawks.
There have been ongoing competitions for these and other special teams spots during training camp. We've been given very little indication which way the coaches are leaning in these competitions, but we'll find out the plan Saturday in the opener against West Virginia.
Collins was asked on media day about how you never know which special teams play can end up swinging a game.
"There's no doubt about it," Collins said. "And that's where our role is, from a special teams standpoint, is finding that hidden yardage in between making sure we're setting up the offense and the defense in the best position, putting points on the board and finding a way for us to help this team win."
The phrase "hidden yardage" is a good one, as it relates to the overall role of special teams. We often think about those units with regards to big plays such as scores or turnovers, but there's a lot more to it than that.
"Really, you start talking about, when we punt the football, we talk about net punts and what's the net gain off of that," Collins said. "When we talk about our kickoff and kickoff return, the starting field position off of that. All those yards that, hey, maybe those extra 10 yards on that kick return. Maybe we get an explosive 10 off a kickoff. Maybe it's a great play by our gunner. All those 10 yards add up, and a lot of times are the difference between winning and losing close games."
As we enter game week, it's still anybody's guess as to who will be starting at the special teams positions for the Lions. The coaches track every single kick and play in camp to come up with a depth chart, and remember, we'll never actually see that chart because Penn State doesn't disclose one.
Here's a guess as to who will start at the key positions:
PLACE-KICKER
The candidates are Alex Felkins, a transfer from Columbia, and Sander Sahaydak.
Sahyadak made one of his two field goal attempts last year, from only 20 yards. He's in his third season in the program.
Felkins made 36 field goals in three seasons at Columbia, but he also missed 18. That's not a great percentage. He had a long of 53.
Felkins has a lot of experience, but he wasn't exactly accurate. Sayahdak probably has more upside, but very little experience.
I gotta think that, if the competition's really close, maybe Felkins gets the first crack at the job. But I also can see this going back and forth throughout the season until one guy solidifies himself.
Whoever is kicking, by the time Ohio State and Michigan roll around, he's gonna need to make some big field goals.
PUNTER
Riley Thompson transferred in from Florida Atlantic, where finished 12th in the nation with a punting average of 45.4 yards.
Alex Bacchetta was a highly touted recruit coming in and actually received a full scholarship, which isn't very common for punters. He punted four times for 160 yards last season as a true freshman.
This has to be Thompson's job, right? He has the experience and the credentials, even if Bacchetta came in as a heralded recruit. Look for Thompson to be the guy, but also perhaps for the competition to continue throughout the season.
KICKOFFS
Gabe Nwosu could be the guy here, after kicking off 18 times with seven touchbacks last year. He also could be in the mix for the punter competition.
Sayhaydak is competing for this job, as well, after having 15 kickoffs with four touchbacks last season.
If Sahaydak wins the place-kicking job, the coaches could just go ahead and make Nwosu the kickoff guy, in order to share duties. Then again, the thought process could be to have Sahaydak stay loose and engaged with kickoffs, so that he's perhaps more prepared for field goals.
These things are all still up for discussion, with the coaches bouncing ideas and scenarios off one another to come up with the best solutions.
RETURNERS
There's no shortage of outstanding athletes who can catch the ball and make something happen, so there's a lot of competition.
That said, Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen make the most sense at kickoff return, given that they're the two best running backs on team.
There are a lot of options at punt return, from receivers to defensive backs. I'd like to see youngster Kaden Saunders get a shot here, to get the wide receiver on the field for some experience and a chance to make big plays.