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Neil Rudel's Commentary

Despite ‘O,’ Nittany Lions move to 5-0

Since he’s been at Penn State, James Franklin has pledged to enjoy the victories and not mope after a win if the Nittany Lions don’t play their best game. He had plenty of reasons to pick apart Saturday’s 41-13 victory at Northwestern, but he wasn’t taking the bait. When the narrative questioned the Lions’ ongoing offensive issues, Franklin tried to nip it. “41 to 13,” he said. “We won.” They did, extending their record to 5-0 and their streak of scoring 30-plus points to a nation-best 12 games. And they did it with a second-half domination of the spunky ...

Lions can’t play down to Wildcats

By Neil Rudel nrudel@altoonamirror.com Some nitpicking as the Nittany Lions hit the road to Northwestern: n Talk about going from the best atmosphere in the Big Ten to the worst. Penn State enjoyed the White Out last week, drawing 110,830, nearly setting a Beaver Stadium attendance record and creating a spectacle that is admired throughout not only college football but in all of sports. The Lions responded accordingly by treating their fans to a 31-0 domination of Iowa. It will be a total comedown today (noon, BTN) at Ryan Field, which seats 47,000 and will be lucky to have ...

PSU point-counter: Special teams falling short (Neil Rudel)

What position needs the most improvement? To me, it’s special teams. They haven’t been so special. They haven’t led to a loss or been bad enough to taint an otherwise impressive 4-0 start, but their performance has not consistently met the standard of a championship team. And since the theme of this point-counterpoint — and really this season — is measuring every aspect of Penn State vs. the chance to beat Ohio State and Michigan, closer scrutiny is warranted. It’s highly likely the Nittany Lions will need a big special teams play against the Buckeyes or Wolverines to ...

Lions beat Iowa at its own game

UNIVERSITY PARK — The irony shouldn’t be lost on the Nittany Nation. As Penn State’s defense was keeping its hands around Iowa’s throat during what would eventually become a 31-0 victory Saturday night at Beaver Stadium, Ohio State and Notre Dame were locked in a similar low-scoring tooth pull in South Bend. Ohio State led the Fighting Irish 3-0 at halftime. Penn State led Iowa 10-0 at halftime. The Buckeyes finally emerged with a 17-14 win, clinched on the game’s final play, and as this season now starts to bloom – with OSU, Penn State and Michigan having further ...

PSU fans should enjoy Iowa series

By Neil Rudel nrudel@altoonamirror.com James Franklin snuck in a dig at the Big Ten office earlier this week when he noted how often the Nittany Lions play Iowa, “maybe the best team in the West (division) over our time here. We love that ... I know it’s random.” I like Franklin, ...

Defense forced to carry Lions

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A not-so-funny thing happened on the Nittany Lions’ way to a 3-0 start Saturday at Memorial Stadium. They suddenly did not look like the No. 7 team in the country. People scanning the scores and seeing Penn State 30, Illinois 13 probably didn’t do a double-take, but ...