Steve Sampsell

Among the media that cover Penn State football on a regular basis, the consensus of preseason record predictions lands at 11-1.

Among the national media types, many have the Nittany Lions advancing to the national championship, with some expecting the team to claim its first crown in nearly four decades.

So, the season begins with abundant optimism and with many ways to connect to the action.

For the Penn State Sports Network’s portion of the gameday, there are some significant changes — a shakeup in the schedule and bigger roles for younger contributors.

Specifically, coverage begins two and a half hours before kickoff, as has been the case for years, and the first 90 minutes will be led by former Penn State standouts Jason Cabinda and Christian Hackenberg.

Gone, at least for that portion of things, are Steve Jones, Jack Ham, Brian Tripp and Roger Corey taking questions by phone or in person — a longtime staple of the pregame show.

According to Penn State, Cabinda and Hackenberg will offer a behind-the-scenes look at things and cover the team’s arrival at Beaver Stadium.

It’s not clear, and seemingly unlikely, that the former players will take questions.

That’s probably not a meaningful loss, but it was a bit of access and a connection point for fans so it’s a shame that it will be gone. Plus, it was a way to get some insight into what fans were thinking.

Jones and Co. return for the final hour before kickoff, a segment of programming that will originate from inside the stadium and include a recorded interview with coach James Franklin and any late-breaking news. Of course, they’ll also frame and focus the storylines for the day.

Once the game begins, it’s Jones, Ham and Tripp as usual — a lineup that typically serves listeners well, and one that’s worthy of chronicling a team with such high expectations.

Corso’s career

This Saturday marks the final College GameDay appearance for beloved, longtime analyst Lee Corso, 90.

The show will originate from Columbus as Texas visits Ohio State. It’s an appropriate bookend for Corso, who made his first of 430 headgear selections (when he pulls on a mascot head to signal the team he expects to win the week’s big game) for an OSU game against Penn State on Oct. 5, 1996.

Corso, who played college football at Florida State and coached at Louisville, Indiana and Northern Illinois, brought a fun, relatable energy to the program that helped engrain it in the fabric of football Saturdays.

He’s slowed considerably since his stroke in 2009, but he remains popular and his Hall of Fame-worthy impact on the sport cannot be questioned.

A hourlong program about Corso’s career, “Not So Fast My Friend — A Lee Corso Special,” will air at 9 p.m. tonight on ESPN.

Figuring Finebaum

If you’re fired up because ESPN commentator Paul Finebaum shared a soundbite that questioned Penn State’s ability to win the national championship and pinned coach James Franklin as the reason why, let it go.

First, Finebaum is not wrong if you listen to all he said. And second, it’s his job to offer strong opinions and prompt reaction. He’s not an Xs and Os guy. He’s not a host or moderator. He exists to stoke emotional fires, and in this case he did so with enough fact-based doubt that it’s fair commentary.

“It’s just one of these I-have-to-see-it-to-believe-it moments. He’s a top-of-the-line coach. He’s a top-10 coach, but until he wins what I consider to be the ultimate game, I can’t buy it,” Finebaum said. “I would just have to bet here, in late August, that James Franklin will find some way to screw this season up — probably even in the national championship game.”

So, Finebaum criticized the coach. He also said he expected Penn State would reach the national championship game. That’s a soundbite worth focusing on as well.

Postgame plans

For those who want to praise or vent this season, “Blue & White Wrap-Up” offers a post-game call-in show. It can be heard on stations in Altoona (96.7 and 100.7) and State College (95.3) and on the Lightner Communications app online.

That show will begin a half hour end of each game, cohosted by Cory Giger and Nathan Forlina.

For those who want to wait a bit before offering their thoughts, Keith Conlin and Landon Tengwall will co-host an hourlong show starting at 10 a.m. Sundays. That will air on 98.7 FM in State College and can be found online (https://www.987thefox.info/), too.

Notable

– Longtime CBS Sports college football analyst Gary Danielson begins the final season of his standout career in Beaver Stadium this week. He’s a consistent, steady analyst who generally does a good job serving fans.

– This is the 28th season for “NitWits,” which airs on WTAJ-TV, and this year it changes a bit to a three-person panel discussion led by veteran participants Neil Rudel of the Mirror and Mark Brennan of Lions247.

– While Lee Corso is leaving GameDay, the other major onsite pregame show, Big Noon Kickoff, adds Dave Portnoy of Barstool Sports to attract attention and create buzz. It’s not clear he’ll better inform viewers or improve the show, though.

– Fans will notice a change on replay reviews during televised games this season. Instead of officials offering “confirmed” or “stands” after replays, the term going forward will instead be “upheld.” Or it could be “overturned.”

Sampsell covers the broadcast end of Penn State football for Gameday. He can be reached at stevesampsell@gmail.com