Penn State (6-4, 2-4 Big Ten) used an action-packed second half to top Temple (5-5, 3-3 AAC) in its 31st consecutive win over the Owls. With this victory, the Nittany Lions are bowl eligible. Penn State kicker Sam Ficken tallied six points in the opening 30 minutes, one from the 29-yard line in the first and one from the 50-yard line in the second quarter. With those two kicks, Ficken tied for second place on Penn State’s all-time career field goal list. He is one of only three players to ... Read More
Penn State hosts Temple in must-win game
The Penn State Nittany Lions (5-4, 2-4 Big Ten) will host their final non-conference game of the season against the Temple Owls (5-4, 3-3 AAC) this weekend at Beaver Stadium. Penn State is riding its 13-7 win at Indiana last weekend, having snapped a four-game losing streak while holding the Hoosiers to the fewest amount of points at home since 2006. Bill Belton’s record-making 92-yard run for a touchdown drove the win, and the Nittany Lions will look to ride his confidence in the effort this ... Read More
Bowl eligibility is within reach for Penn State
For the first time since 2012, Penn State has the chance to go to a bowl game. In September, the NCAA announced that, in light of Penn State’s tremendous efforts to correct their poor reporting measures and make sure that the appropriate resources were available to students, faculty, and fans, the university would be given the chance to play in a postseason game two years earlier than the sanctions originally dictated. Given that Penn State was on its way to a 4-0 start at the time, the ... Read More
Record rushing touchdown lifts Penn State over Indiana
Penn State (5-4, 2-4 Big Ten) ended its four-game losing streak against Indiana (3-6, 0-5 Big Ten) with a final score of 13-6 on Saturday afternoon. Neither team scored in the first quarter, despite chances for both the Hoosiers and the Lions. The teams combined for a total of seven punts (averaging one every 2:14) in the first, but the inability to start any kind of sustainable offense plagued both teams through the game. It wasn't until the second quarter that the Hoosiers opened up the ... Read More
Penn State travels to Indiana to try to snap losing streak
The Penn State Nittany Lions (4-4, 1-3 Big Ten) will travel to Bloomington to take on the Indiana Hoosiers (3-5, 0-4 Big Ten) on Saturday for the second year in a row. Penn State is seeking redemption after narrowly losing 20-19 to Maryland last week and will look to kicker Sam Ficken and quarterback Christian Hackenberg to lead the offense. Ficken has connected on 17 of his 19 attempts this season, including three from behind the 45-yard line. Ficken is the first player from Penn State to ... Read More
Penn State strong despite struggles
Penn State is not used to losing. From volleyball to wrestling to soccer, most NCAA Division 1 athletics at Penn State are wildly successful, but none more than football. Two national championships and 44 postseason appearances for a school above the Mason-Dixon Line is nothing to bite your thumb at. As such, Penn State fans have come to expect winning seasons. Joe Paterno, as taboo as his name may be, created a culture of success, technically winning 409 games during his tenure as head ... Read More
Maryland reprimanded and fined after ‘Handshakegate’
The Big Ten publicly reprimanded and fined Maryland for its pregame actions against Penn State on Saturday. Conference officials announced on Monday that wide receiver Stefon Diggs was to be suspended for one game (November 15 against Michigan State) and university fined $10,000 after violating the Big Ten Sportsmanship Policy following a scuffle on the sidelines and a refusal to shake the Penn State captains’ hands. Diggs was involved in the skirmish on the sidelines before the game ... Read More
Penn State looks to rebound against Maryland
One of college football’s oldest rivalries may be renewed on Saturday when the Penn State Nittany Lions (4-3, 1-3 Big Ten) will clash with the Maryland Terrapins (5-3, 2-2 Big Ten) for the first time since 1993 in Beaver Stadium. Maryland is the eighth most played school in Penn State history; the two universities first met in 1917 and have matched up 37 times since then. Penn State owns the series 35-1-1 and is hoping to hand Maryland its third conference loss in its inaugural season in the ... Read More
Despite growing pains, Christian Hackenberg one of PSU’s best
Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg has been sacked 17 times in the last four games. He’s been intercepted three times, including a pick six against Northwestern, and has thrown only one touchdown pass in that same span. Regardless, he is still being called one of the greatest quarterbacks in Penn State history. Hackenberg’s accuracy has been suffering lately, due in part to a weak offensive line. With the NCAA sanctions looming over his head, former Penn State head coach Bill O’Brien ... Read More
O’Brien looks to improve on solid first year at Penn State
On Saturday, Bill O’Brien will lead his team out of the tunnels at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. to begin his second year as head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions. But don’t expect this year to be any easier than year one for O’Brien. Once again Penn State will be playing for pride, as they are in the midst of serving a four-game bowl ban among other penalties that were brought down on the football program last year in the wake of the child sex abuse scandal involving the ... Read More