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PSU’s season will be shaped in Columbus

UNIVERSITY PARK — OK, let the season begin. Then sixth-ranked Penn State improved to 6-0 by disposing of Massachusetts, 63-0, on a miserable, rainy Saturday at Beaver Stadium, the last remaining “game” on the schedule before the curtain goes up on the real competition. And that’s Saturday in Columbus, where the unbeaten and third-ranked Buckeyes await and where the Nittany Lions’ season will be shaped. James Franklin, though, wasn’t quite ready to look ahead Saturday night, saying/pleading, “I just want to have a few hours of normalcy and hang out with my wife,” ...

With OSU next, Franklin can’t lose focus

James Franklin is generally very careful with what he says, the way he says it and is almost always on point in his dealings with the media. That was not the case this week. With Massachusetts in town — the Minutemen are seven-touchdown underdogs — Franklin was once again asked Tuesday about non-conference scheduling and whether he thought it would change with the impending Big Ten expansion and 12-team playoff format. The first thing he said was, “Yeah, I would say there’s a team in this conference, specifically, that’s buying out of a ton of game contracts that are ...

Relegation in the PIAA?

Relegation is a term used in the English Premier League, the world’s top soccer league based in Europe in which the bottom three teams each season are sent down to a lower league and three teams from the lower league replace those teams the next season. According to a report from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette earlier this week, Butler High School would like to bring a form of relegation to the PIAA. The school made a presentation to the PIAA’s strategic planning committee that involved a team being allowed to ask to move down in classification due to a lack of competitiveness over ...

Scholastic soccer nears postseason

The fall scholastic soccer season is in full stride, and several teams in the area have developed into incredibly strong, cohesive teams at this point in time. The Bishop Guilfoyle Lady Marauders looked to be an extremely strong squad prior to the start of the season, and they have lived up to that billing, losing only to Hollidaysburg. Coach Joe DeLeo’s team has been stingy on defense, controlled the midfield and has been explosive in scoring up top. They derailed undefeated teams in both Bellefonte and West Branch. With a blend of strong seasoned seniors and incredibly talented ...

World Cup heads to quarterfinals

After a month of pool play, eight countries are advancing to the playoffs to determine a 2023 Rugby World Cup champion. After some great pool games, the finalists are not a huge surprise, although Australian fans may disagree. For the first time ever, the 1991 world champions did not advance. This Saturday, a doubleheader of Wales vs. Argentina and Ireland vs. New Zealand lead off the quarterfinals. Ireland is ranked No. 1 in the world, playing a mix of bruising rugby with kicking finesse from its 38-year-old flyhalf, Johnny Sexton. The Irish have a front row of Andrew Porter, Dan ...

PSU point-counter: Going to miss Michigan, Ohio State (Giger)

This week's question: What's your take on the new Big Ten schedule? By Cory Giger For the Mirror Penn State, and James Franklin in particular, certainly love that both Ohio State and Michigan will no longer be on the schedule every year, beginning in 2024. Without a doubt, not having to play the Buckeyes and Wolverines each season will help the Nittany Lions’ chances of making the 12-team College Football Playoff. That’s a given. But it still stinks, if you ask me. Games against Ohio State and Michigan have always been a blast. Everybody looks forward to them, they are usually ...