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PSU point-counterpoint: How should the quarterback situation be handled?

Clifford has lost right to be permanent starter By Neil Rudel nrudel@altoonamirror.com After last Saturday’s 44-31 loss to Ohio State, Sean Clifford lowered his career record vs. OSU and Michigan to 2-6, without a win over the Buckeyes. James Franklin has maintained loyalty to Clifford. After a shaky start at Michigan, which Clifford didn’t finish due to injury (leaving a QB question for the next game against Minnesota), Franklin said, “Sean has earned the right” to be the starter. That isn’t the case anymore. Not after Clifford was intercepted on the Lions’ ...

Upset bid turns (over) to nightmare

UNIVERSITY PARK — The true champion is most dangerous when he sees his own blood. And that’s exactly what happened Saturday afternoon as the Nittany Lions gave No. 2 Ohio State everything it wanted for 51 minutes. The problem is the game lasts 60, and as a result, an encouraging performance and budding upset unraveled into a four-touchdown collapse during a six-minute nightmare. The 44-31 loss came before 108,433 at Beaver Stadium, patrons who have seen it all too often against top-ranked opponents. It extended James Franklin’s streak to 11 straight losses against Top-10 ...

Lions’ best chance is to play keep away

PSU football Saturday: Ohio State at Penn State, noon. TV: FOX Radio: TOONA 1430-AM & 99.7-FM; WRAX-FM 106.5 By Neil Rudel nrudel@altoonamirror.com Penn State is unrivaled. It markets itself that way. On the field, though, it’s not been so unrivaled. There have been plenty of teams that have dominated the Nittany Lions (Ohio State), drubbed them (Michigan three times in the last seven years) or upset them (too long of a list to extend this paragraph but it would start with Illinois.) Except for when Pitt is occasionally rationed a spot on the schedule, most ...

Getting you prepared for fall turkey hunting

Hunting for turkeys in the fall has been a tradition from before the pioneers landed at Plymouth Rock. We wait for it religiously, and I couldn’t find the right ammunition this season for my new shotgun. Oh well. The old 12 gauge is very good at helping me bag my Thanksgiving bird. It seems quite possible that we will be hunting them in the snow this year. That opens up a great possibility of bumping into a flock because you can come upon tracks in the snow and still hunt those tracks until you hear or see them in the distance. Spring and fall turkey hunting methods differ so ...

Will the expanded playoff field help Penn Sate become an elite program?

Not unless Nittany Lions can beat OSU, Michigan By Neil Rudel nrudel@altoonamirror.com OK, first off, to explain the wording of the question: James Franklin started it. Quick background: Following a gut-wrenching 27-26 loss to the Buckeyes in 2018 at Beaver Stadium — Ohio State’s second-straight one-point win (39-38) in the series — Franklin used his post-game forum to outline the difference between great and elite programs. He said the Lions “are a great program” and pledged to narrow that gap to become “elite.” In the emotional, raw moments of a tough loss ...

Uihlein finds golfing gold mine

The appeal was an easier travel schedule with a chance to make more money from bigger purses. That’s why Peter Uihlein left the PGA Tour for Saudi-funded LIV Golf. It’s also why he came to the PGA Tour in the first place. Three years after Uihlein turned pro, he already had played in 32 countries on nine tours. The stamps in his passport were unlike most Americans with the pedigree of being a U.S. Amateur champion, two-time Walker Cup player and No. 1 amateur in the world. And now? He is best known as the 33-year-old who never finished better than third in his five years on ...