Penn State category, Page 22
Penn State handled adversity in win over Bowling Green, but bye week cleanup remains
Reflecting on Penn State’s 34-27 victory over Bowling Green, coach James Franklin didn’t quite say a win’s a win. However, despite the eighth-ranked Nittany Lions’ failure to pummel their Mid-American Conference foe at Beaver Stadium — instead falling behind 17-7 in the second quarter — Franklin did credit his team...
Penn State players deem defense ‘unacceptable’ in 1st half against Bowling Green
Penn State’s defense has performed at a high level in six of the season’s first eight quarters. But the Nittany Lions’ play in the opening 30 minutes against Bowling Green on Saturday was not good enough, and the defense’s veterans knew it. The visitors put up 24 points while averaging...
Penn State defense’s ‘sloppy’ start, 2nd-half turnaround fuels win over Bowling Green
As 35-point favorites against Bowling Green, Penn State returned home to a partially renovated Beaver Stadium on Saturday. Pregame rain cleared, the Nittany Lions deferred to the second half after winning the coin toss and booted the opening kickoff out of the end zone for a touchback. Then sixth-year Bowling...
Drew Allar throws for 2 TDs and runs for another as No. 8 Penn State holds off Bowling Green 34-27Video
STATE COLLEGE — Even though Penn State’s defense played its worst half of football in years, Tom Allen didn’t need to raise his voice at halftime Saturday. The new defensive coordinator for the Nittany Lions knew his players could rebound. They just needed to refocus. “You can’t take anyone for...
Duquesne’s big-time football game against Boston College got even bigger after recent upset
It’s not like the Duquesne football team was oblivious to what they were getting in Boston College as a Week 2 opponent when the schedule was released. An ACC school. On the road. Potential NFL players on the other sideline. Former Penn State head coach and New England Patriots offensive...
No. 8 Penn State’s confidence is soaring on defense as Bowling Green comes to town
STATE COLLEGE — Zakee Wheatley already feels like Penn State’s defense has generated a stadium full of swagger. The junior safety experienced it in last week’s season-opening win and again when the No. 8 Nittany Lions gathered to study their drubbing of West Virginia. “I look at the D-line, I...
Penn State WR Omari Evans’ 55-yard grab a ‘confidence booster’ in Year 3Video
For the second time in the West Virginia game, Omari Evans sprinted on a go route between the hash mark and numbers to quarterback Drew Allar’s left side. The first time, protection broke down and caused the play to go awry. Evans and Allar were on the same page the...
Penn State backup QB Beau Pribula thriving in Swiss Army knife roleVideo
Prominent among the takeaways from Penn State’s convincing season-opening win over West Virginia is the Nittany Lions have no shortage of playmakers who can cause trouble for opposing defenses. Quarterback Drew Allar looked sharp to begin his junior campaign, running back Nick Singleton stole the show on the ground and...
Despite not being targeted in opener, Penn State has plan to get WR Julian Fleming involved
A frequently asked question from fans coming out of Penn State’s 2024 opener at West Virginia centered on one of the Nittany Lions’ high-profile transfers: where was Julian Fleming? Fleming, the former Ohio State wide receiver and five-star prospect at Southern Columbia, did not record a catch and wasn’t targeted...
James Franklin sees performance vs. WVU as ‘really good starting point’ for Penn State’s defense
Penn State’s season-opening win over West Virginia over the weekend answered many questions with regard to how smoothly first-year coordinator Andy Kotelnicki would implement the Nittany Lions’ new-look offense against a tough opponent. Quarterback Drew Allar looked sharp throwing and running, putting together a largely mistake-free game. Receiver Harrison Wallace,...
Penn State’s Harrison Wallace III steps up as No. 1 wide receiver vs. West VirginiaVideo
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Harrison Wallace III put on a show in Penn State’s season-opening win over West Virginia. Wallace had a career day, eclipsing 100 yards, scoring two touchdowns and, if there was any doubt, establishing himself as the Nittany Lions’ No. 1 wide receiver. To some, Wallace’s performance might...
Season still young for West Virginia despite stinging loss to No. 8 Penn State on big stageVideo
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia coach Neal Brown expressed confidence earlier this week that his Mountaineers were capable of producing a different outcome Saturday vs. Penn State than last year against the Nittany Lions. To begin the 2023 campaign, West Virginia fell by 23 points in Happy Valley, a game...
No. 8 Penn State navigates lengthy weather delay, wins convincingly at West Virginia
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Penn State coach James Franklin anticipated a challenge Saturday afternoon at Milan Puskar Stadium in opening up the season against a West Virginia squad that looks to build off a nine-win campaign from last year. But Franklin and the eighth-ranked Nittany Lions handled their Week 1 test...
Season opener between West Virginia, No. 8 Penn State suspended by severe weather
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — With less than five minutes left in halftime before West Virginia and No. 8 Penn State were set to resume their 2024 season-opener, severe weather around Milan Puskar Stadium prompted an evacuation of fans and a suspension of the contest. The game cannot resume until 30 minutes...
A leaner Drew Allar looks to get No. 8 Penn State off to a good start at West VirginiaVideo
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Quarterback Drew Allar was great in his Penn State starting debut a year ago against West Virginia. The rest of the season was a bit disappointing. The junior with the big arm expects the Nittany Lions to become more consistent behind a new offensive coordinator. “I think...
Penn State’s heralded 2022 recruiting class ready to make a College Football Playoff push
Drew Allar remembers Penn State football’s highly-rated 2022 recruiting class being a “super-tight group” from the very beginning. Allar, the five-star quarterback and headliner of the class, verbally committed three years ago, back in March 2021. He and the rest of the commits formed a “close connection,” one they used...
Penn State’s Anthony Donkoh, Nolan Rucci continue to battle at right tackle
Everyone knows who will replace Olu Fashanu, Penn State’s first-round left tackle. Drew Shelton, a player with experience and upside, is eager to protect Drew Allar’s blindside. But who starts opposite Shelton is still a mystery ahead of Saturday’s opener at West Virginia. Anthony Donkoh and Nolan Rucci are the...
Schools tried to poach Penn State’s Nick Singleton. Why did the star RB stay loyal?
Nick Singleton and his parents hopped on a Zoom call with his name, image and likeness agents earlier this offseason. The star Penn State running back, after breaking onto the national scene as a freshman, was coming off a frustrating sophomore season. But Singleton had no intention of leaving via...
Penn State prepares for hostile environment as quest for CFP begins at West Virginia
Penn State coach James Franklin is under no illusion about the environment that awaits the No. 8-ranked Nittany Lions in Morgantown for their season opener at noon Saturday against West Virginia. In what marks Penn State’s return to the Mountain State for the first time since 1992, Franklin expects a...
Penn State signs athletic director Patrick Kraft to 8-year extension
Penn State athletic director Patrick Kraft was inked to an eight-year extension that keeps him under contract through June 30, 2032, the university announced Monday. The deal was approved by Penn State’s Board of Trustees and by the university’s Committee on Equity and Human Resources in a unanimous vote. Kraft,...
Penn State’s Dani Dennis-Sutton: ‘I’m going to be the best D-end in the country’
Is he cocky or confident? If Dani Dennis-Sutton is right, it won’t matter. Dennis-Sutton has made three starts at defensive end heading into his junior season. There are two good reasons for this: Chop Robinson and Adisa Isaac. A pair of first-team All-Big Ten ends last season, Robinson was a...
Power move: Realignment, NIL have drastically changed the framework of college football
Before kickoff next Saturday when Pitt opens its 2024 season against Kent State, tradition will prevail, and players — properly dressed in shirt and tie — will follow coach Pat Narduzzi into Acrisure Stadium. Inside, more memories will be made over the course of the season, perhaps similar to M.J....
Penn State offense aims to take next step behind QB Drew Allar
Few casual college football fans glancing at Penn State quarterback Drew Allar’s statistics from last year could conclude anything other than he had a stellar season. Allar threw 25 touchdowns and only two interceptions, completing 59.9% of his passes for 2,631 yards in his first year as a starter. Yet,...
Penn State features bevy of options across offensive line
Vega Ioane is one of the best eight or nine, and likely one of the top six. On the topic of Penn State offensive linemen, James Franklin and position coach Phil Trautwein could deploy at least eight players — nine if you include prized true freshman Cooper Cousins — early...
Kevin Winston Jr.’s journey led to becoming a Penn State captain, one of college football’s top safeties
Kevin Winston Sr. and his wife, Natasha, were in town last Saturday when they received a text from a Penn State football staffer, asking them to go to James Franklin’s office after watching practice. Initially, they wondered what their son — star safety Kevin Winston Jr. — might have done...
