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Time to head north for some elk viewing

Hearing a bull elk bugle in the distance on a crisp autumn morning is a special experience for anyone who appreciates the natural world. The bugle is an eerie high-pitched, nasal squeal that bull elk employ to attract potential mates and establish dominance over rival males. The first time I heard an elk bugle, the shrill sound of it struck me as oddly out of place coming from such a large and magnificent animal. But after having the opportunity to observe and listen to bull elk several times here in Pennsylvania and out west in Yellowstone National Park, their haunting mating call ...

PSU point-counterpoint: What is your biggest reason for optimism with this team? (Rudel)

Allar has already elevated ceiling on Nits’ potential By Neil Rudel It really boils down to Drew Allar. Yes, Penn State has plenty of talent at nearly every position, but to get to the College Football Playoff, you need “The Guy.” Times have clearly changed since the Nittany Lions’ finest hour — beating Miami 14-10 for the national championship in 1986 — and nowadays it takes scoring 40 points to be crowned. And you can’t do that with John Shaffer at quarterback — nothing against Shaffer, who was the consummate winner and leader. You can’t even do it with, though ...

PSU point-counterpoint: What is your biggest reason for optimism with this team? (Giger)

Nittany Lions cannot waste coaching staff this year This is the best overall coaching staff James Franklin has had during his Penn State tenure, and there’s a lot of reason to be optimistic that the guys he’s surrounded himself with can help the program reach the next level. But it may need to happen this year, before one extremely vital member of the staff departs. Defensive coordinator Manny Diaz was a phenomenal hire by Franklin after Brent Pry left to become head coach at Virginia Tech. With all due respect to Pry, who did excellent work, Diaz just brings a different level of ...

Chance to see backup QBs this afternoon

By Neil Rudel nrudel@altoonamirror.com Some nitpicking as Penn State approaches one of three soft spots on its schedule (Northwestern and UMass are the others): n The NCAA takes its share of flak for terminal lack of oversight — or overreach — but its rule of allowing football players to participate in as many as four games without losing the chance to redshirt is a good thing. And it could come into play for the Nittany Lions’ matchup today with Delaware (noon, Peacock only). Penn State should overpower the Blue Hens pretty quickly, which could trigger a quarterback ...

With college football expanding the playoffs, should the season be 11 games?

Right up front, this is Delaware week, and there are no slam-dunk topics. Cory and I both saw nothing overly flagrant about the late touchdown with six seconds left last week, which happened to cover the spread, but West Virginia had been using timeouts to prolong the game, and the Nittany Lions’ backups were in. So that was off the table. But what about this game? I’m sure you’re excited about it – if, that is, you were able to sell your tickets. And how many of you have a subscription to Peacock in order to see the game? Thought so. Maybe you can somehow pirate it from ...

Young QB Allar lives up to billing

UNIVERSITY PARK — James Franklin approached this season with the idea that he didn’t want first-year starting quarterback Drew Allar to shoulder too much of the load early. So much for the preseason plans. Largely because of Allar, the Nittany Lions controlled their season opener and ...