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Cory Giger

Giger: PSU benefits from Rahne’s departure

Old Dominion did Penn State a big favor, and gave Nittany Lion fans an early Christmas present. That may sound harsh, but let’s be clear about one thing: Losing offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne is addition by subtraction for Penn State’s offense. Rahne is a good guy. A family man. A good representative of Penn State. I wish him nothing but the best as he takes over as Old Dominion’s head coach, and this is a wonderful opportunity for his career. But the hard truth is that Rahne was in over his head as the Lions’ offensive coordinator. He was average at best while holding ...

Giger: Facts simply don’t back up Penn State’s Rose Bowl snub

It takes just two words to explain Penn State getting snubbed for the Rose Bowl. 1. Bogus 2. Illinois This really isn’t complicated, and anyone who tells you otherwise is fooling themselves. That goes for the College Football Playoff selection committee, which botched this thing. It’s simple math, really. I know, I know, most Americans hate math, but this is REALLY easy math. Here we go: n Which number is higher: 3 or 2? Wisconsin (10-3) has three losses. Penn State (10-2) has two. n Which number is higher: 11 or 13 (or 31)? Penn State lost at Ohio State, one of the toughest ...

PSU always relevant on the national stage

This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Penn State, and yet with a little bit of help, the Nittany Lions could be heading to the Rose Bowl. That’s certainly what you would call something to be thankful for. There are so many things that Penn State football fans can be thankful for, but mostly it’s this: Your team is definitely one of the “haves” of college football, and there are so, so many “have not” programs that have never and will never be able to enjoy such a life of luxury in the sport. Every Penn State game is on national TV. It’s been that way for ...

Giger: Shorter in transfer portal bad look for Lions

The long and short of it is, Justin Shorter’s development and production at Penn State have been terribly disappointing. The how and why are debatable. Who’s to blame is debatable. What’s not debatable, though, is that Shorter is unhappy and apparently wants to leave Penn State. The receiver entered the transfer portal Tuesday, according to published reports, and if you think about it, that should not come as a surprise. Shorter, a great physical specimen at 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds, came to PSU as an elite five-star recruit. According to 247Sports, of the hundreds and hundred ...

Moral victory doesn’t overshadow PSU’s poor play

Far be it for me or anybody else to tell you how to be a fan. You fan the way you want to fan. Be happy about whatever it is that makes you happy. Get upset about whatever it is that makes you upset. It doesn’t matter what other people think about your team. What YOU think about your team — win, lose, draw or blowout — is all that matters. Just be consistent, I guess, is the only thing I can add. Have some reason for how you feel about your fandom, and be consistent in your line of thinking. Having said all that, let’s talk about moral victories. Specifically, let’s ...

PSU defense must find ways to pressure OSU QB Fields

Penn State’s defense is not as good as everyone thought it was just a few weeks ago, which has been proven the past two games with the Nittany Lions looking inept at times against the pass. If PSU doesn’t fix that Saturday, it is going to get pounded by Ohio State. A painful reminder: The last time the Lions visited The Horseshoe, JT Barrett completed 16 passes in a row to lead the Buckeyes back from a big fourth-quarter deficit to stun PSU, 39-38. Barrett’s now gone after what seemed like a nine-year college career, and the guy who replaced him, Justin Fields, is an even better ...