Seeing Penn State ranked in the top four of the College Football Playoff last week had to be pretty cool for all Nittany Lion fans. But be honest here: Didn’t it feel like a bit of a mirage? The Lions had the resume, relative to everyone else, to deserve their No. 4 ranking. No question ...
Firing GM Neal Huntingdon was the appropriate move for the Pirates, without question, but it may not have been the best thing for the Curve. That might not mean much to a lot of fans who only care about the success of the big league club. But if you’ve become spoiled by watching a great ...
James Franklin was in big trouble. The Penn State football program was going nowhere fast. Then came a vital second-half comeback against Minnesota at Beaver Stadium on Oct. 1, 2016 that turned everything around. The Nittany Lions returned to national prominence with a huge upset of No. 2 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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, ...
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 ...
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 ...
We usually get to see a great football game at Iowa, which is what it’s all about, and two of my favorite personal stories also took place on trips there. I’ve told the following story dozens of times to friends and on the radio but have never written about it. It occurred during Penn ...
There was an interesting visitor for Penn State’s homecoming over the weekend — none other than former Nittany Lion quarterback Tommy Stevens. You know, the guy who now plays for Mississippi State, which had a bye Saturday. Rarely will you see someone who plays for another school visit ...
This is the United States of America. A free market economy. Where everybody has the right to make money in any legal way they see fit. Every. Single. Person. A 6-month-old can act in TV shows or movies. And make money. A 16-year-old can work at McDonald’s. And make money. A ...
Clint Hurdle had to go. That should have been obvious to anyone who follows the Pirates and saw how this debacle of a season unfolded with infighting in the clubhouse and a horrendous collapse on the field in the second half. Still, I was surprised to see Hurdle get fired Sunday. If only ...
As they stood with their children and players celebrating Friday night’s decimation at Maryland, Penn State coach James Franklin pulled offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne close and kissed him on the head. It was a fantastic night for many members of the PSU program, with Rahne right at or ...
Depth is great. Playing lots of guys is great. Keeping young players engaged by giving them a chance to compete for playing time is great. Those are all good problems to have for any team. And make no mistake about it, Penn State has a good problem on its hands that there are four promising ...
This is a bad time to be a major coaching figure in Pittsburgh. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin should be squarely on the hot seat after an 0-2 start. Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi just made one of the dumbest decisions you’ll ever see in college football, and he didn’t even think there was ...
Quarterback Sean Clifford is tied for the team lead with 108 yards rushing through two games. That’s … not a good thing for Penn State. Yes, the Nittany Lions need Clifford to be able to run the ball some, and he had a beautiful 58-yard scamper Saturday against Buffalo. So this is no ...
It’s Penn State-Pitt week once again. The last one we will see for some time. And truth be told, I’m perfectly fine with that. At the risk of sounding blasphemous around these here parts, it’s OK with me that the Nittany Lions and Panthers are wrapping up their ...
I think Neil’s bedtime is 10:30. He starts to get a little cranky after that. So it’s understandable he doesn’t like a bunch of night games. Penn State’s just poking the bear scheduling these things. I love night games. I stay up late anyway, so it’s no bother to me. I’m ...
This makes no sense whatsoever and is a totally disgraceful move by the Pirates organization, which has so many people who are bad at their jobs, yet they decided to scapegoat the wrong guy. Curve manager Michael Ryan got fired Tuesday, and he was told the news by Bucs farm director Larry ...