This should be an exciting time for Penn State football fans with the program very much in the running for a chance to make the College Football Playoff for the first time. The Nittany Lions are No. 5 in the latest AP and coaches polls and would be a lock for the CFP if they go undefeated ...
Penn State is tied for 10th in the country in scoring at 40 points per game. Which brings me to the old saying about “lies, damned lies and statistics.” Take away the meaningless 79 points in a scrimmage against woeful FCS opponent Idaho and 45 against a bad Buffalo team, and the Nittany Lions’ scoring average drops to 31.2. Maryland completely quit during the 59-0 drubbing and has been awful ever since, so that score should be taken with a grain of salt. Against Pitt (17 points), Purdue (35), Iowa (17) and Michigan (28), Penn State has scored 97 points, for an average of ...
UNIVERSITY PARK — We’re all looking for reasons to feel great about Penn State, to believe that this undefeated squad that will be ranked at least No. 6 in the country this week legitimately is one of the best teams in the country and has a strong shot at the College Football Playoff. But can you feel great after what you watched Saturday night? Do we really believe Penn State is anywhere near as good as Alabama? Or Clemson? Or Ohio State? Maybe it doesn’t matter. Winning is all that matters, right? Penn State held on to beat Michigan, 28-21, and gets to feel great about ...
Brent Pry has everything it takes to be an excellent college football head coach. The intelligence. The personality. The Xs and Os expertise. The track record. The connections. Quite frankly, it’s surprising that Pry is not a head coach yet. Penn State and James Franklin have to be very, very happy about that. Pry oversees a Nittany Lion defense that ranks second in the country in points per game allowed, a miniscule 8.2. He’s in his fourth season as defensive coordinator and has worked for his longtime friend, Franklin, since joining his staff at Vanderbilt in 2011. Pry’s ...
I still can’t believe the pass. I still can’t believe the catch. I still can’t believe the comeback. What Penn State pulled off in a magical 23-second span against Michigan in 2013 was then and still today remains unbelievable. Aside from the program-changing blocked field goal victory over Ohio State in 2016, the greatest Penn State win I’ve covered since starting on the beat in 2006 was the four-overtime classic against the Wolverines before a whiteout crowd in 2013. The Nittany Lions trailed, 34-27, and had the ball at their own 20 with 50 seconds left. A mere 23 seconds ...
IOWA CITY, Iowa. — Enough of this four-man tailback rotation already. Give the dang ball to Noah Cain and let him do his thing. Penn State has a lot of weapons at a lot of positions all over the field, and that was on display in Saturday night’s 17-12 win over Iowa. No one was more impressive than Cain, who carried 22 times for 102 yards. The other three tailbacks — Journey Brown, Ricky Slade and Devyn Ford — combined for 41 yards on 12 carries. The offense just looks different with Cain in the game. The true freshman from Louisiana runs with a full head of steam and ...
