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Neil Rudel's Commentary

Is this season 11-1 or bust for Penn State? Yes — time is now for Nits to take next logical step

Welcome to another season and our point-counterpoint. On this question, I’m going to say yes. It doesn’t mean 10-2 — and presumably another two losses to Ohio State and Michigan — should put James Franklin on the hot seat, although anything less will be a disappointing season. It just means the time is now for Franklin and the program — given the talent they’ve recruited — to take that next logical step toward Big Ten title and national championship contention. Which is precisely what he is being paid (handsomely) to do. With a first-year starting quarterback in ...

Nehlen stays close to program at WVU

By Neil Rudel nrudel@altoonamirror.com The last time Penn State played West Virginia was 1992, and the game featured Hall of Fame coaches on both sidelines. One, of course, was Joe Paterno, known as one of the great coaches of all time. The other was Don Nehlen, who gave West Virginia 21 ...

Rudel: Conference realignment can take toll

College football has been built on tradition, and all this conference poaching and realignment is threatening that tradition. The heavyweights, like Penn State, will survive and maybe even thrive. Others may be destroyed. A year after enticing USC and UCLA to the Big Ten, the conference has now added Oregon and Washington, effective with the 2024 season. The move brings the Big Ten to 18 schools, which is not a round number and leaves open the distinct possibility of further expansion. Speculation abounds. Notre Dame has always made geographic and big-brand sense for the Big Ten, ...

All eyes are on Allar

UNIVERSITY PARK — Drew Allar is trying not to get ahead of himself. Penn State’s presumed starting quarterback deflected questions during the Nittany Lions’ Media Day on Sunday at Beaver Stadium on whether he’s approaching the season as if he’ll be the No. 1 guy. “I’m not ...

Nittany Lions should have answers to 2023 season’s questions

Ever wonder how many questions a college football coach answers during the season? In James Franklin’s case, there’s the Tuesday press conference, the Wednesday Quarterback Club and the Wednesday night condensed media scrum. Plus post-game. That’s roughly 40 questions per week — starting with this weekend’s Media Day on Sunday at Beaver Stadium. We’ll limit this exercise to just 10 questions. 1. Is this the year the Nittany Lions crash the CFP playoff? Don’t look now, but this marks Franklin’s 10th year as Penn State’s coach. Of the previous nine, he’s won 11 ...

First glimpse of ’23 Lions on display

UNIVERSITY PARK — Due to Covid and some personnel challenges the last couple of years, Penn State scaled back its Blue-White Game, but with the roster restored and sensing the anticipation of the upcoming season, James Franklin wanted to get back to a “traditional” spring game. Which means more real action and less of a controlled scrimmage. He wants to see how his young players react in front of a crowd in addition to rewarding the fans who make the trip as the game typically draws about 70,000. Kickoff/TV: The game kicks off at 2 p.m. today, and the Big Ten Network will ...