A little over a week into spring practice, the defending Big Ten champion Penn State Nittany Lions are gearing up for the Blue-White Game on April 22nd. Head coach James Franklin and running back Saquon Barkley spoke with members of the media following the team's fifth spring practice. James Franklin Franklin spoke to the media for nearly 15 minutes following practice Wednesday evening and touched on a barrage of topics ranging from captains, the competitiveness of the Blue-White game and not ... Read More
Penn State validates ranking with dismantling of Iowa
The Penn State Nittany Lions found themselves ranked No. 12 when the initial College Football Playoff poll was released Tuesday evening, and they spent Saturday night proving why they deserved to be ranked so high. The Nittany Lions marched down the field in 2:17 on the opening possession to put the first of many touchdowns on the board against the Iowa Hawkeyes in front of 106,194 people at Beaver Stadium. Penn State went on to score 34 more points on the evening, defeating the Hawkeyes ... Read More
Cheers and Jeers: Balanced attack leads Penn State over Iowa
The No. 12 Penn State Nittany Lions (7-2, 5-1 Big Ten) found the endzone on their first possession and never looked back in a 41-14 victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday night at Beaver Stadium. Here are the game's “Cheers and jeers.” Cheers Defense playing at top-10 level— Penn State's defense forced a turnover on downs on the first possession of the game for Iowa and was dominant in all facets of the game Saturday evening. Iowa entered the game averaging 348.1 total yards of offense, ... Read More
No. 12 Penn State, Iowa squaring off in prime-time
#12 Penn State Nittany Lions vs. Iowa Hawkeyes The Records: Penn State (6-2, 4-1 Big Ten); Iowa (5-3, 3-2 Big Ten). The Head Coaches: Penn State: James Franklin, third season, 44-29 overall, 20-14 at Penn State; Iowa: Kirk Ferentz, 132-90 record while head coach at Iowa, 144-111 overall. The Game: Penn State and Iowa square off on the gridiron for the first time in Happy Valley since 2011, which ended with a 13-3 victory for the Nittany Lions. Iowa comes into the match-up against ... Read More
Upset of No. 2 Ohio State “special” for Penn State
“This is special,” an emotional James Franklin, head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions, said following his team's 24-21 victory over the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) at Beaver Stadium. Franklin's Nittany Lions (5-2, 3-1) pulled off a major upset after coming into the game as 18-point underdogs in Las Vegas. “This is for everybody,” Franklin said. “This community has been through so much in the last five years.” Ohio State held a 14-point lead as the fourth quarter ... Read More
Cheers and Jeers: Penn State upsets No. 2 Ohio State
The Penn State Nittany Lions (5-2, 3-1 Big Ten) returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown and took down the second-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes (6-1, 3-1), 24-21. Here are the game's “Cheers and jeers.” Cheers Return of Bell and Cabinda— Linebackers Brandon Bell and Jason Cabinda made their returns to the Nittany Lions' defense after being out since Game One and Two of the season, respectively. Bell and Cabinda made their presence known early and often throughout the night in a Penn State ... Read More