Penn State head coach Terry Smith celebrates after winning against Nebraska following an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)

While Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft had a few swings and misses at finding a coach, he eventually hit a home run in hiring Matt Campbell. Here are a few base hits from me while the Lions gear up for the Pinstripe Bowl in Yankee Stadium:

– Bowl games used to be must-watch television from start to finish. They have lost a lot of luster with opt-outs, the transfer portal, NIL and anything else that wasn’t a thing in college football 10 years ago. Yes, the College Football Playoffs are outstanding, and the current system is better than the BCS when we listened to computers telling us who were the best teams. But I also don’t really need to see Florida International play UTSA in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl.

– Speaking of the playoffs, the 12-team format is better than four. As soon as possible, it’s time to go to 16 teams with eight first-round home games and no byes. Remember last season when all four teams that had byes in the first round lost in the quarterfinals. It’s really not much of an advantage to have more than three weeks of rest while the opponent played under two weeks ago.

– Another note on the College Football Playoffs, let’s stop it with the Group of Five teams. It would be understandable if one of those teams had a 2000s Boise State-like type of year, but Tulane and James Madison didn’t fit that bill. Credit JMU for playing hard against a really good Oregon team, but Notre Dame would have made so much more sense against Ole Miss. Aren’t we trying to get the 12 best teams in the tournament?

– If you thought you weren’t going to have to worry about Penn State football news for a while after this weekend, think again. The transfer portal opens up on Jan. 2, and expect a lot of ins and outs until the window closes on Jan. 16.

– Penn State fans should show up and show out this weekend in the Bronx. If nothing else, make it a “thank you” to Terry Smith. It certainly wasn’t a season anyone wanted or expected, but Smith put the pieces of the program back together in extraordinary fashion. There has to be enough respect in that to make the day trip to Yankee Stadium.

– As far as what the game will look like from the Penn State side, your guess is as good as mine.

– It might be a little too early to be thinking about the draft in December, but there are projections for Penn State offensive lineman Vega Ioane to be picked in the middle of the first round in April. College athletes don’t go through their four years of school broke any longer, but the money is still greater on the other side. Ioane is one of the opt-outs for the Lions, and until the money is better to compete in a bowl game, this is the way it’s going to be.

Andy Stine can be reached at astine@altoonamirror.com.