DALLAS — After the Gatorade dousing of James Franklin and all the colorful confetti had fallen to celebrate Penn State’s 53-39 Cotton Bowl victory over Memphis, the Nittany Lions staged a mini-dance party in their locker room. Yes, they regretted the two losses this season, especially at ...
DALLAS — The bowl season, especially the non-College Football Playoff games, can be littered with duds. Witness the 14-0 (lack of) effort Miami — the U, not of Ohio — mailed in during Thursday’s Independence Bowl loss to Louisana Tech that resulted in the Hurricanes’ offensive ...
With Penn State’s 2019 season about to close, the defensive leadership torch is being passed to Micah Parsons. The sophomore linebacker and newly-minted consensus All-American will be the unquestioned focal point of the Nittany Lions in 2020, and a high bar has already been set for his ...
I’m thankful for Penn State’s history. Yes, the Nittany Lions have a present to feel very good about and a bright future, too, as the program has a chance to be in the College Football Playoff next year. But on this Thanksgiving Day, it’s cool that we as Penn State followers — be it ...
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Penn State left its heart on the Ohio Stadium turf Saturday, gamely fighting back from a three-touchdown deficit, and at the heart of that fight was its backup quarterback. Will Levis was outstanding. In fact, it’s difficult to remember a Penn State quarterback coming ...
Penn State’s 2020 season starts today. OK, maybe that’s a stretch. Maybe the Nittany Lions shock the world and, as a 19-point underdog, stun Ohio State at the Horseshoe. And, obviously, if that happens, all of a sudden Penn State lands in the Big Ten championship game – probably ...
The question reminds me of the late 1970s, my very early days at the Mirror. At that time, there were three outstanding area small-school scholastic football teams that stood out — Southern Huntingdon, Bellwood-Antis and Juniata Valley. Each was coached by an old-school, run-first, tough ...
UNIVERSITY PARK – Penn State is 9-1, which means the valley is happy. Right? Well, almost. The Nittany Lions held off Indiana, 34-27, on a cool, sunny Saturday afternoon at Beaver Stadium, but for the second straight week, their defense raised another caution flag. It just may be the ...
This week’s topic doesn’t specify good or bad memories, and at the risk of being a wet blanket while the Nittany Lions are 8-0, there’s really no doubt for me. I, like most Penn State followers who witnessed it, will never forget — 20 years later — the 1999 game/nightmare at Beaver ...
EAST LANSING, Mich. — No lightning bolts this time, and with the obvious difference in the Nittany Lions and Spartans, it would not have mattered. Two years ago, when Penn State visited Spartans Stadium, a three-plus hour lightning delay stopped the Lions’ momentum and contributed to a ...
Penn State is headed to East Lansing today, and it should be playing Rutgers instead. Almost never, at least in its current state, is a matchup with Rutgers anticipated, and it wouldn’t be as today’s opponent. But Michigan State — not Rutgers — ought to be the Nittany Lions’ ...
In answering this week’s question, first ask yourself: How much better did you expect this Penn State offense to be? Thank you. That’s why there’s been too much consternation about the offense. Yes, it has built some big leads, against Purdue and Michigan, that it hasn’t turned ...
A week after Penn State felt it was on the short end of the officiating stick, which made a victory at Iowa more difficult, the tables were turned Saturday night in the Nittany Lions’ 28-21 win over Michigan. At least if you consider Jim Harbaugh’s viewpoint. The Wolverines were ...
Since Penn State joined and started to play a Big Ten schedule in 1993, it was clear the Nittany Lions’ success would be gauged on their performances against the two longtime conference heavyweights, Ohio State and Michigan. The series with Saturday’s opponent, Michigan, has brought a ...
Penn State’s 17-12 win at Iowa — the best road win of James Franklin’s six-year tenure — was most impressive in that the Nittany Lions beat the Hawkeyes at their own game. Iowa is not a great team because it doesn’t have enough offense and/or Kirk Ferentz can’t get more out of the ...
UNIVERSITY PARK — Noon starts haven’t always brought out the best in the Nittany Lions, but that wasn’t the case Saturday as Penn State was on top if its game early and built a 28-0 lead against Purdue. Then, apparently, the Lions got drowsy and needed an afternoon nap because they sure ...
When it comes to college football play-by-play announcers, there may be no one who has combined more versatility with a longer tenure than Maryland’s Johnny Holliday. Consider some of these impressive resume items: n He emceed the final scheduled concert of the Beatles at Candlestick Park ...
UNIVERSITY PARK — If we don’t see a renewal of the Penn State-Pitt rivalry for years, decades, or even ever, those who were fortunate enough to witness Saturday’s last scheduled game between the neighboring schools were treated to a performance that did the series proud. Penn State won, ...
For the sake of today’s debate, I’ll take the defense, which was supposed to be the team strength and may still be, we’ll see. But some issues surfaced against Buffalo that signaled a red flag. Buffalo kept the ball for 90 plays and 42-plus minutes. That’s hard to believe. So if ...
UNIVERSITY PARK — The Penn State faithful surpassed the 104,000 mark at Beaver Stadium for the second consecutive week so imagine if the opposition was a team that people actually wanted to see play. Instead, we’ve witnessed Idaho and Buffalo as season-opening appetizers. And you know ...