#8 Penn State Nittany Lions vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights The Records: Penn State (8-2, 6-1 Big Ten); Rutgers (2-8, 0-7 Big Ten) The Head Coaches: Penn State: James Franklin, third season, 46-29 overall, 22-14 at Penn State; Rutgers: Chris Ash, 2-8 record at Rutgers and overall. The Game: Penn State hits the road for its penultimate regular-season conference match-up against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Saturday night at 8:00 p.m. The Scarlet Knights come into Saturday night's game ... Read More
Cheers and Jeers: Penn State grinds out victory over Indiana
The No. 10 Penn State Nittany Lions (8-2, 6-1 Big Ten) ground their way to a 45-31 victory over the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, IN. Here are the game's “Cheers and jeers.” Cheers Forcing turnovers— Penn State's defensive and special teams units forced four fumbles in the first half alone against the Hoosiers. Three came by way of the defense, while the fourth was on a punt that touched an Indiana player before it was downed. But only the muffed ... Read More
Penn State ranked No. 10 in new playoff poll
For the first time since 2009, the Penn State Nittany Lions are back in college football's top-10. In Tuesday's College Football Playoff poll, the Nittany Lions (7-2, 5-1 Big Ten) were ranked 10th, behind fellow Big Ten teams Michigan (No. 3), Ohio (No. 5) and Wisconsin (No. 7) and were in front of Nebraska (No. 19). The Nittany Lions were ranked No. 12 in last week's CFP Committee's release (the first of the season), but a dominant 41-14 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes and some losses to teams ... 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
Penn State gets statement win in rout of Purdue
While the upset over Ohio State was the signature win that had eluded head coach James Franklin for the majority of his three-years at Penn State, the 62-24 win Saturday over Purdue served as a big statement win for both him and the program. After the emotional high of defeating the then-No. 2 team in the country (and a big rival, to boot), Saturday's game had the possibility of being a considerable let down. The Nittany Lions were on the road against a team with an interim head coach looking ... Read More
Cheers and Jeers: Barkley, PSU offense shine in rout of Purdue
The Penn State Nittany Lions (6-2, 4-1 Big Ten) exploded for 45 points in the second half of Saturday afternoon's game on the way to a 62-24 victory over the Purdue Boilermakers. Here are the game's “Cheers and jeers.” Cheers Third quarter explosion— The Penn State offense benefited from great field position field throughout the third quarter and used it to its advantage, scoring 24 points in the third quarter. (Two Purdue turnovers also helped.) In that third quarter, Chris Godwin got the ... 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