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Defense must continue to hold down Nits’ fort

What unit needs to carry the day at Iowa? By Neil Rudel nrudel@altoonamirror.com We can make a case for both, which is what makes for a good topic. In fact, I gave Cory the first pick this week, and he took offense. Shocker. But I’m fine suggesting Penn State’s defense must stand up tall at Iowa for the Nittany Lions’ perfect record to still be intact late Saturday night. Remember, Kirk Ferentz is a veteran, old-school defensive coach who is totally comfortable winning a game 6-4. I call any of the 107,000 witnesses from 2004. The series has almost never ...

Penn State’s best defense will need to be solid offense

What unit needs to carry the day at Iowa? By Cory Giger For the Mirror I usually have five keys for Penn State to win a game. Today I’m going with five words. Don’t. Turn. The. Ball. Over. That is indeed the story line of this week’s showdown at Iowa, as James Franklin said Tuesday. So much of Iowa’s success in rising to a No. 3 ranking has been predicated on turnovers. The Hawkeyes have forced 16 of them (12 interceptions), giving their offense a bunch of short fields and easy scoring opportunities. How good is Iowa if the other team doesn’t turn the ball ...

PSU can’t savor 5-0 taste too long

By Neil Rudel nrudel@altoonamirror.com UNIVERSITY PARK — James Franklin’s typical postgame routine has almost never included much of a peek ahead. After a win, he’s generally deflected such inquiries with, “I’m going to enjoy this one for the next few hours.” Saturday night, however, brought a different approach. The Nittany Lions’ 24-0 victory over Indiana, which improved them to 5-0 to likely maintain their ranking in the Associated Press Top 5, was less than an hour old before Franklin was admittedly going to lose sleep over this week’s trip to unbeaten ...

Pry: PSU defense has learned its lesson

James Franklin has praised Penn State’s defensive unit most of the season, saying the Nittany Lions’ have been playing “championship-level defense.’’ A vastly-improved Sean Clifford, Jahan Dotson’s greatness, fewer offensive turnovers and the overall defense have been the main contributing factors in Penn State’s 4-0 start and rise to No. 4 in the Associated Press rankings heading into tonight’s game with Indiana (7:30 p.m., ABC). None is more important than the other. That’s why it’s called complementary football. But the defensive success has been particularly ...

With Brady, celebrate greatness, remember the flaws

Tom Brady’s return to New England will surely be a massive lovefest, at least up until the moment he lines up under center Sunday night for Tampa Bay. With good reason, because there’s a lot to celebrate for the greatest quarterback of his time and the legacy he somehow keeps writing at the age of 44. Everyone knows about the six Super Bowl rings for the Patriots and the late-game comebacks so numerous they’re hard to count. Brady also won 219 regular-season games for New England and was 30-10 overall in the playoffs, with 73 touchdown passes. Along the way, he and coach Bill ...

US has to win in Europe to turn tide in Ryder Cup

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. — Europe had players who weren’t even born the last time it was beaten this badly in the Ryder Cup by what was clearly a superior American team on Midwestern soil. This wasn’t Sunday at Whistling Straits. This was five years ago at Hazeltine, where the 17-11 outcome suggested the Ryder Cup was turning in favor of the Americans. Darren Clarke was the captain in 2016 and he pledged Europe would “be back stronger to fight” in two years. That’s exactly what happened. So while the Americans looked better than ever — “the greatest team of all time,” ...