The No. 8 Penn State Nittany Lions will open their season against the Akron Zips, from the MAC Saturday, Sept. 5 at noon. It will be the fourth meeting between the two and all four have been season openers in Beaver Stadium.

Penn State has won the previous three meetings, in 1999, 2005 and 2006, by a combined score of 152-50.

The biggest thing to look for in the season opening contest for the Nittany Lions is how well the new secondary plays against an Akron team which has a good passing game. Drew Astorino and Nick Sukay will get the starts at safety and D’Anton Lynn and Knowledge Timmons will start at the corner positions, according to Joe Paterno.

Timmons gets the nod because A.J. Wallace, the only corner with experience, has been in the “doghouse.” Paterno expects Wallace to get some playing time on Saturday, but will not start.

Paterno also thinks his secondary will rise to the occasion.

“None of them have had a lot of experience in ballgames except for Wallace, but they're healthy and they've been getting better all the time,” he said. “So I think they'll be okay.”

The Zips will be led by QB Chris Jacquemain, who threw for 2,748 yards last season and 20 touchdowns. All-three of the Zips starting wide outs from last season are back and are seniors, in Deryn Bowser, Andre Jones and Jeremy Bruce. They will provide a good first test for the secondary.

Another key to look for on defense for Penn State is the return of Sean Lee to the linebackers group. He will see his first action since the 2007 Alamo Bowl, after missing all of 2008 with a torn ACL.

On the offensive side of the ball, there are three things to look for in the season opener.

The first is how the offensive line plays, with three new starters. Akron should not present much of a problem for the new unit, but if they don’t play well together it could be a long season for the Nittnay Lions.

Both guards, Mike Stankiewitch and Lou Eliades will be first time starters, along with DeOn’tea Pannell at one of the tackle positions. Paterno thinks they have a come a long way and should be ready for the challenge.

“I think we've made good progress on fundamentals,” he said. “I think they've got a lot more confidence in themselves.”

The second thing to look for from the offense is how the new set of wide receivers play.

Brett Bracket, Graham Zug, Derek Moye and Chaz Powell will be the go to guys this year. Which one will step up against Akron and set the tone for the rest of the year?

Paterno thinks they will be good and likes their size, but also stated that having Mickey Shuler and Andrew Quarless at the tight end position will help take some of the pressure off.

“I think the tight ends are going to have a bigger part in what we do offensively, particularly in the passing game,” he said.

The final thing to look for offensively for Penn State is to see if Daryll Clack and Evan Royster get off to good starts. They both could be in the running for the Heisman Trophy if Penn State is good enough and putting up “big stats” in every game will help. Will they put up Heisman like numbers in this one?

As for Akron, they have 17 players from Pennsylvania, including staring wide receiver Jeremy Bruce, starting linebacker Aaron Williams, starting fullback Joe Tuzze, starting center and offensive captain Elliot Bates, starting right tackle Jake Anderson, starting left tackle Corey Woods, and starting defensive lineman James Harvey.

They are looking to put up a good showing in their home state.