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Neil Rudel

Opt-outs shouldn’t be at bowl game

Some leftover Peach Bowl notes because, well, there’s still a lot to sort through: The biggest takeaway from Penn State’s 38-25 loss to Mississippi in the Peach Bowl was the number of opt-outs that left the Nittany Lions a game early — specifically their starting cornerbacks, whose absence left Penn State’s secondary inexperienced and ill-prepared under an interim defensive coordinator. James Franklin said prior to the game he expected to have Kalen King for “one more game,” and repeatedly said “transparency” in discussions, with players and families, had kept the ...

Lions save their worst for last

ATLANTA — If bowl games are typically a combination of an end of one season and the beginning of the next, Penn State badly failed on both fronts Saturday at the Peach Bowl. The Nittany Lions were drubbed by Mississippi, 38-25, and thus ended 2023 with a thud, falling to 10-3 and going 0-3 ...

Lions will rely on new faces

ATLANTA — This could be called “The Moving Parts Bowl.” Then again, given the state of college football, now dominated at this time of the year by the transfer portal, behind-the-scenes NIL maneuvering and coaching moves, they all could. Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin admits he’s approaching today’s Peach Bowl against the Nittany Lions (noon, ESPN) with too much uncertainty. “We really don’t know what to expect,” he said. Kiffin was referring to the Nittany Lions’ defense, which lost coordinator Manny Diaz to Duke after the season. In his place, safeties coach ...

College football is broken — and it knows it

UNIVERSITY PARK — College football is screaming for leadership. In the past couple of weeks, you’ve heard from the likes of James Franklin and Pat Kraft that “tampering is rampant,” and “it’s the wild, wild West.” It really wasn’t that long ago that teams accepted bowl bids in late November or early December and then all but drew their shades until reporting to the bowl site. Now, with the addition of the transfer portal and NIL (Name, Image and Likeness), not to mention a December signing day that previously didn’t exist, coaches’ heads are spinning. Agents ...

Unity fueled 2003 AAHS boys team

Altoona will honor its 2003 boys basketball team that won the District 6 title and advanced to the PIAA western final Friday night during the Mountain Lions’ home opener with Central Dauphin East (6:30 varsity tipoff). The squad, coached by Kraig Hetz, was the last Altoona boys team to play ...

Time right for Diaz’s departure

Maybe this is one of the reasons offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich was fired with two games remaining in the regular season. James Franklin knew it was possible if not likely that he could lose Manny Diaz to a head-coaching opportunity, which was confirmed Thursday when Duke hired the Nittany Lions’ defensive coordinator. Franklin also knew the Lions didn’t need any offensive coaches to put away Rutgers and Michigan State in the final two games. So rather than having to deal with searching for two coordinators simultaneously in what is the busiest month of the year — the ...