Quarterback

He may be entering his fourth season as a starting quarterback, but Zack Mills still has something to prove to a Beaver Stadium crowd that will be scrutinizing his every play. Mills needs a solid game against a mediocre secondary to begin quelling the doubters.

Akron's Charlie Frye faces no such obstacle as he is firmly entrenched as the de facto leader of the Zips. He was projected as a mid-round NFL draft pick had he left after a stellar junior campaign in which he threw for 3,549 yards and 22 touchdowns.

Running Back

For starters, the obvious question is "who starts for Penn State?" The answer is, no one can know for sure. Paterno says Tony Hunt. Then again, last year he said Ricky Upton, who only ended up carrying the ball 23 times for 110 yards. It's hard to say who will end up toting it the most for the Lions this year.

But having three running backs qualified to start is still better than Akron's none. Jerell Ringer is the returning rushing leader for the Zips with 327 yards and should be used mostly as a pass catcher.

Receiver

Take note, because this may be the only game this year where Penn State will get the nod in this category. Though this is easily the shakiest unit of the bunch for the Nittany Lions, there are actually fewer question marks at the position than the Zips have.

Akron head coach J.D. Brookhart doesn't have Antonio Bryant and Larry Fitzgerald like he did as offensive coordinator at Pitt. He'll have to settle for converted safety Domenik Hixon and Morris Ellington, who missed most of last season with an injury.

Offensive Line

This one is actually closer than it appears, because Akron's O-line is not the puny bunch of blockers you'd expect from a mid-major. Nor are they the overweight, immobile types. This group lead by three returning seniors in the middle, who helped Akron's 2003 offense set school records for points (435) and passing yards (3,736). But it's time for Penn State's offensive lineman, four of which were prep All-Americans, to make good on their potential, starting with a dominating performance in the season opener.

Defensive Line

After looking porous while allowing an atrocious 209 yards on the ground per game in 2003, the D-line seems to only have room for improvement in 2004, one would hope. Tamba Hali's move to defensive end during spring practice could provide a line that only had 11 sacks in 2003 with a pass rusher it sorely lacked in the absence of Michael Haynes.

Akron has two experienced players at end but little else after they lost a starting tackle for the season in its spring game. Much less than the Lions.

Linebacker

Penn State could have the right mix at this position. Paul Posluszny is the mean, vocal one; Derek Wake is the quiet leader; and middle linebacker Tim Shaw is a jolly bloke whose family is from the UK. Together, this intriguing trio will try to get Linebacker U back to its glorious roots. Outside of senior Diontre Earl the Zips don't have anything special at 'backer, especially after last year's stalwart Chase Blackburn was shifted up to the defensive line.

Defensive Back

By now, you've probably heard -- several times -- that Akron's best player is quarterback Charlie Frye. Fortunately for the Lions, their best unit is the secondary, led by Thorpe Award candidate Alan Zemaitis - a brash, play-making corner that Frye will be hesitant to throw anywhere near. As for Akron's defensive backs, there doesn't appear to be any reason to bother singling out any of them. But one of the safeties is nicknamed "Thump." Enough said.

Special Teams

Looking at last season's statistics, the two teams appear about equal in this area of the game. But for Penn State, special teams has been an enormous focus this off-season, after their dredful numbers from a year ago. After ranking statistically near the bottom of the Big Ten in every special teams category last season, the Lions have dedicated more practice time to this unit and plans to use more starters on the kickoff and punting units.

Coaches

There's this guy at Penn State -- Joe Paterno -- and he's been coaching for a few years. And some say he's been coaching too long. We've been hearing this rehashed all summer. After all the talk, it's now time for JoePa to start proving he can still win. And, despite the drama surrounding the coaching staff, at least there is stability.

The Akron staff, led by head coach J.D. Brookhart, is starting from scratch, with many of the assistant coaches in positions of authority they have never held before at the Division I-A level.

Intangibles

One can only imagine how long the Lions have been waiting for today. To be able to start from scratch and do something to erase the memory of a 3-9 season. Players have been talking about that need since spring practice began back in April. The Zips come in with a confident quarterback who won't be rattled by the Beaver Stadium crowd and a sense of having nothing to lose. That won't be enough to create a repeat of Toledo in 2000, however, as the Lions will be hell bent on starting this season off strongly.