Trending
NIL not withstanding, Penn State fans don't appear to see the reality of a football program that has only won two national championships in its existence, and a 9-3 or 10-2 season might be really all that can be expected.
Granted, this may be a sit back and wait season, but last year's "recruiting" (ie. shell out NIL money) was doomed to be a failure, and so give the new guy wiggle room to spend $20-30 million to buy a decent team.
And that might just be two or three losses. Face up to college football reality, enjoy the pageantry, the tailgating and the game itself.
Wins? Yay. Losses? On to the next game.
Joe Maschue, Altoona
Lions' performance calls for patience
Like everyone else, I was frustrated and disappointed vs. Wisconsin, but I really didn't expect all the social media negativity and outright hatred that exploded.
Most of it sounded like the last days of James Franklin. I do believe that Rocco Becht, some of his teammates and the offensive coordinator were overwhelmed by the Big Ten brand of play and the Beaver Stadium environment.
Losses are opportunities to learn and improve so let's be patient and give the coaches and team the time to do that.
Will Walk, Spring, Texas
(Note: The writer is a Tyrone native.)
Campbell can't handle the job
In his brief time in State College, Matt Campbell has shown that he is not the right coach for Penn State and does not belong in the Big Ten.
He's proven it on the field and in his pre- and post-game comments.
Like the Iowa State players he brought with him, even though they may have been excellent in the Big 12, they are not competitive in the Big Ten.
How do you allow two sideline interference calls? Why do you worry about "screwing up" instead of concentrating on playing well?
Hopefully, the legacy of a great program has not yet been destroyed, and the necessary corrections can be made in time to restore the program to greatness.
Steve Wolfberg, Boynton Beach, Florida
(Note: The writer is an Altoona native.)
Of problems, defense most alarming
I am a graduate of Penn State class of 1963 and was at Penn State when Rip Engle was the head coach.
There have been ups and downs over the years of Penn State football, so it is not surprising we are experiencing a similar situation in recent times.
I have been around since 1938 and have been involved with the startup of various manufacturing facilities, and I know change brings problems.
However, the change in Penn State football that concerns me the most is our poor defensive performance in the past two years.
This year in the two Big Ten games, our defense gave up 24 points and 34 points in the two games.
If we look back at last year, I believe our defense averaged giving up over 30 points per game in many Big Ten team games.
I can recall Penn State defenses used to pride themselves in holding other teams to 10 points or less per game.
I believe we need to vastly improve our defensive play if we are to compete in the Big Ten. I don't know what happened on the defensive side of the ball starting last year.
Donald Moskowitz, Londonderry N.H.