When he became president of Juniata College in 2013, one of Jim Troha’s first acts was to hop on a plane to California to visit with Juniata’s favorite son. Troha sat on the back porch of Chuck Knox’s home in Anaheim, and the two smoked a cigar. “That,” Troha said the other day in ...
BELLWOOD — When you’re 71 and have been a head football coach for 38 straight years, with a resume of more than 300 victories, and as you’ve recovered from the emotions of another season and some down time over the holidays and the calendar flips to spring, you inevitably look for a sign ...
UNIVERSITY PARK — The Blue-White Game is Penn State football’s best commercial. The game itself isn’t usually much to watch, let alone evaluate, and Saturday was no exception as the Blue continued its recent domination and cruised to a 21-10 victory. Unless you want to go back to the ...
It’s safe to say there are few in Altoona Area High School’s rich football history remembered more for one single play than Brooks Kaufman. Kaufman, who passed away last month in New Jersey at the age of 94, was the central figure in the infamous Altoona-Johnstown 1940 season finale that ...
GLENDALE, Ariz. — There’s sure something about the Fiesta Bowl that agrees with the Nittany Lions. Penn State kept its perfect record in the desert intact at 7-0 by starting strong and holding off Washington, 35-28, Saturday in a well-played and entertaining showdown at University of ...
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Friday morning’s final pre-Fiesta Bowl press conference with the head coaches provided at least a slight glimpse into their personalities. While both offered mutual respect of the other’s program, it was easy to see that Washington’s Chris Petersen was content to ...
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — This was James Franklin’s first trip back to the University of Maryland campus since 2010, when the announced vision called for the Terrapins’ program to be turned over to him. In 2009, Maryland named Franklin its “coach-in-waiting” to be Ralph Friedgen’s ...
If Penn State needed advance notice on how teams whose seasons seem dead in the water can be dangerous — especially at home and especially against an old, familiar opponent — Pitt delivered that warning loudly and clearly on Friday afternoon at Heinz Field. The Panthers’ victory over ...
UNIVERSITY PARK — In case you got a little confused Saturday by the red and white uniforms on Beaver Stadium’s visiting sideline, while Penn State was stunningly leading 42-10 late in the first half, rest assured those uniforms were being occupied by Nebraska and not Rutgers. And that may ...
UNIVERSITY PARK — It was midway through the second quarter Saturday, and Penn State’s running game was once again going nowhere. With just one first down and 11 yards rushing in the first quarter, the Nittany Lions trailed their old Eastern cousin Rutgers, 6-0, and though the ultimate ...
Any team that climbs to No. 2 and sees itself in the national championship picture only to stumble twice and shatter its dreams can struggle with late-season disengagement. It’s natural. Penn State seems to have excellent leadership, from James Franklin to Saquon Barkley to Trace ...
EAST LANSING, Mich. — Just eight days ago, Penn State, ranked No. 2 for the first time since 1999, stood in the rarified air of the college football world and allowed itself to take a long, deep breath from the same mountaintop as Alabama. And man was it exhilarating — while it ...
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Just when it appeared that Penn State was about ready to take the torch from Ohio State as the Big Ten’s flagship program, the Nittany Lions were dealt a cruel reality that will be forever etched in their craw. Penn State came into hallowed Ohio Stadium unbeaten, the ...
In August, I picked the Nittany Lions to go 10-2 this season and have yet to pick against them so far. My fellow NitWit, Mike Irwin, used to pull this regularly, rolling out an optimistic 10-2 or 11-1 preseason prognostication and then never quite coming up with the one or two losses when it ...
UNIVERSITY PARK — James Franklin’s tenure hasn’t completed four years yet, but it’s already produced some memorable games. Ohio State last year. The Big Ten championship comeback against Wisconsin. The current collective stretch — 16 wins in the last 17 games with the lone loss an ...
EVANSTON, Ill. — Penn State’s offense took the Big Ten and the nation by storm a year ago and returned almost all of their key parts going into 2017. Through the offseason, the questions almost all were on the defensive side of the ball. Wouldn’t you know it: As the season hit its ...
In less than two years as a starter — just 19 games to be exact — Trace McSorley has established himself as one of the most prolific quarterbacks in Penn State history. There’s no doubt he fits James Franklin’s offense better than Christian Hackenberg, and there’s little doubt that ...
When a team is 4-0 and ranked No. 4 in the country, there aren’t an abundance of big concerns. Certainly, the field goal operation — snapper, holder, placekicker — is one as Tyler Davis is no longer automatic. Four times from within 41 yards he’s either missed or had his field goal ...
IOWA CITY, Iowa — The road to the Big Ten championship still runs through State College. The Iowa Hawkeyes — always game and especially so here at night — did more than threaten to knock the Nittany Lions off their perch Saturday night at Kinnick Stadium. They actually grabbed the ...
Since the Nittany Lions outscored their three non-conference opponents, 141-14, the answer to this week’s question is obvious. Or is it? Certainly Penn State’s 3-0 start has been successful, but whether it fully prepared the Lions for what lies ahead will not be determined until the ...