Homer Ozzie & The Straw asks: Should I go to the game on Saturday? And if I do, who should I drag with me? I think it’ll be a little too cold for the kids to enjoy it. Marge will go if I push but she won’t be dying to do it for sure.
If you’re waffling, the answer should always be yes. Even if you aren’t there the entire game, it’s worth it to go and support these kids who’ve had a rough year. Plus, tickets can still be found on StubHub for under $50 each, which in this economy is pretty darn good!
PSU Esq. asks: Is Terry Smith only two defensive stops away from being the head coach? A win at Iowa and home against Indiana may have sealed the deal and got him the job.
Had Terry Smith beaten Iowa and Indiana, I think most of us would be more ok with him being named the next head coach. As it is, he’s a wonderful person and a great representative of our university, and I’m very thankful for everything he’s done, not just this year but in all of his family’s years of ties to Penn State – but I don’t think he’s who we need as the next head coach. If he is named to that role, then I’m sure I’d eventually come around, but it might take a bit.
This isn’t the defensive line coach. Kraft and the PSU administration can’t just take the words of non-unbiased young men when that decision impacts their eight-figure product. I just truly hope there’s a way to go in a different direction, but also not burn bridges with Terry Smith and all of the players and alumni he has rooting for him (unlike what happened with Larry Johnson Sr).
barneyk asks: Assuming we beat Rutgers this weekend and recognizing that although PSU has had a rough year they are still a big name draw for bowl games, what bowl game do you think PSU will play in?
I’m thinking it’ll be the Pinstripe Bowl, which would be a fitting bookend to the CJF era at Penn State. They’re a big draw, sure, but there’s only so much higher up on the Big Ten pecking order that they can jump if they win and elect to go to a bowl.
wvpsufan asks: So what’s up with the running game lately?
Have the blocking scheme changed drastically or is the line just executing better
To my special eyes, the blocking scheme hasn’t changed drastically – the line is executing better, and the playcalling is much better. We are doing a better job of stretching the field vertically, which helps open up the run game – and there’s been fewer gimmicky play calls on offense, now that the quarterback room is down to 1.5 healthy players. Much like on the defensive line, it certainly seems as though Coach Smith told Kotelnicki that he’s got to run the ball off-tackle until the opposing defense can stop it.
And, spoiler alert, the last two weeks our opponent has been unable to stop it – and it looks like this week’s opponent may not fare much better, if the stats are any indicator.
PSU1979dude asks: Do you think NFL scouts will look at Singleton’s entire career production and largely ignore this year’s drop? How does one explain the drop when Kaytron exploded this year? I still think Nick is an excellent back and has a lot of potential
Yes, for the most part they will. He’s not injured, and there’s a lot of off-field and overall team things that have been going on (not sure if you’ve heard!) that have impacted not just his, but other key potential draftees’ stock.
What will impact where he goes the most will be 1) how he performs at the combine, and 2) how he performs at PSU’s pro day. He has an outside shot at getting taken on the second day, but his measurables and overall body of work means he won’t get out of Pittsburgh without a new team.
Gerry Dincher asks: How much blame for the failure of this football season do you place on James Franklin?
Most, if not all of it. It was clear that the team had bought into their own hype and that Franklin had lost them before the UCLA game. Everything is top down in terms of vibes in football, which is why “any given Saturday” is a thing – a team can’t just coast on talent and expect to win every game on the schedule, even the supposed gimmes; that’s what it appeared Franklin did in October, which trickled down to the team. As the head coach, he set the expectations and the buck stopped with him. When they lost to two of the then-worst teams in the conference in back-to-back weeks, ultimately, the responsibility solely falls on the head coach. And that two-game stretch is what we can point to when we refer to this season, as you did, as a “failure”.
Smee asks: I mentioned this in a Feed thing, but why do Tyler Duzansky, Gabe Nwosu, Ryan Barker, etc. not show up in snap counts? Are Special Teamers really not so “special”?
This is a great question! I’ll ask Colin to pop in on the comments section on this post to weigh in.
kingkub asks: So watching the game Saturday night, I was reminded that no matter how good our team is, no matter what is on the line, the students tend to go home and not attend the game before or after Thanksgiving, leaving their seats vacant.
What would you do to fill those seats for future games?
2 ideas, (not original to me):
1-remove that game from the student ticket package. Sell a limited number to the students and give the rest to our service men and women for free or a nominal charge
2-I got an email from Duke Athletics offering free parking and 4 free tickets to sit in the student section this Saturday vs Wake Forest. They recognize that giving them away for free will put more people in the stands than charging even $10 a ticket
I don’t see how you could do #2 without #1 – because what happens if the students did, in fact, show up? Then you’ve double-sold tickets.
They should really take a page from basketball in this regard; for games at the BJC that occur while students are on break (like Tuesday night’s game against Boston), the student section seats are sold to the general public. It’s not great, as those are prime seats sold to folks who likely aren’t rabid fans and thus aren’t anywhere near as loud as the students, but it fills the seats and it’s better than nothing (and I’m pretty sure volleyball does something similar).
I think they can remove them from the student season ticket package and offer them to students as standalone tickets. Then, any extras can be sold to the general public or offered to service members; I don’t see PSU giving anything away for free (they’d never include parking in any deal) but even the opportunity to sell more gear or concessions to folks has got to be one they’d jump on.
JayMPSU asks: Got an email this week thanking me for being season ticket holder and pointed out next year’s home schedule.
This has to be one of the worst ever?
2026 Home Opponents
Marshall University
University of Buffalo
University of Minnesota
Purdue University
Rutgers University
University of Southern California
University of Wisconsin
It truly is bad. And I’m pretty shocked that we don’t play Ohio State, Indiana, or Oregon next year – none of the teams that will likely make the expanded playoff this postseason will be on our 2026 schedule. That lines up pretty nicely for whomever our new head coach is going to be, but of course, since we’ll have sky-high expectations, they won’t live up to them.
chulupabatman asks: Assuming we win Saturday, am I the only one thinking we’re just going to decline a bowl game invite?
If we make an outside hire for HC (and I for one am still thinking we will), you’re going to see a mass exodus hit the portal and we legit might not have enough for normal practices leading up. Best case scenario we retain Terry, and it’s primarily untested underclassmen playing in the game which is a recipe for a likely loss and overall losing record which we haven’t had in over 20 years aside from the weird Covid year. I do not see a chance in hell of Singleton, Kaytron, Durant, DDS, and Wheatley dressing for the pinstripe bowl
I would frankly be shocked if we decline the bowl invite. There likely will be a number of players who will opt out (think Peach Bowl on steroids) but there are just as many who will be looking to prove themselves on the field after a lackluster season. Yes, there’s the opportunity for injury to consider – but there’s also the opportunity to redeem yourself and your team, after you were touted as world-beaters in the pre-season and are only playing for the opportunity to play in the postseason over Thanksgiving weekend.
It’s a tough choice, for all the players – draft eligible, and not. But for the program, I’d say it’s a pretty easy one.
PSU Esq. asks: On Monday December 1st who is beside Pat Kraft at the press conference being introduced as the next head coach at Penn State?
NittanyPUMA asks: OK, it’s the last mailbag . . . call your shot. Who’s the next head ball coach?
These two were so similar, I had to group them together. And let me say, I have absolutely NO insider knowledge, and I’m not even a paying subscriber on any of the premium boards anymore, so I have zero insight into the search whatsoever. I know who I’d love it to be (realistic or not), and I’ve said that here. I know who I most ardently do NOT want it to be (also previously said so here). Basically, anyone short of Brian Kelly, I could likely talk myself into, even if it’s a name that I find otherwise underwhelming at first.
PSU_Lions_84 asks: Many divergent opinions on who should be next HC. Irrespective of who is selected how long will his honeymoon last?
Ultimately, it all comes down to first impressions, right? What does the new head coach say and do immediately after the announcement? How does he get the players and lettermen on his side, buying into the program and his vision for it – and only after those groups, what is he doing to get buy in from the Penn State community?
Obviously it’s not just about the talk, he’s got to walk the walk, but the talk is the first step. And if he fails that, it’s going to be a long slog with a very short rope – if you thought, as I did, the “fire Franklin” chants at the Peg were inappropriate, you’ll probably want to stay away for a while.
If he nails the first few days/weeks, gets buy in an miraculously pulls together a decent transfer group and coaching staff (that includes at least one letterman) and doesn’t do anything to embarrass himself or the university off the field, the honeymoon period probably lasts until the first time the team is down in a game next fall.
LTFT5 asks: I’m not asking you to diverge any sources, or speculate (like so many in the comments do), and if you’d just flat out rather not answer this, totally understandable. Now that that’s out of the way, one of the things that get mentioned in the endorsements of Coach Terry is that he’s an alum and he’ll mend relationships with the lettermen. What are some of the things that caused some type of strain between the last guy and the lettermen (if it’s even true)?
Again, I have zero insight into this so anything I say should absolutely be taken with a grain of salt – as with much of what anyone outside of the program is saying right now. That being said, would someone who had a strain with lettermen employ so many lettermen on his staff? Would so many lettermen who played for him publicly thank Franklin and his contributions to their lives, not just their on-field successes? Would players who never played under Franklin come back to work for the program under his leadership, being a part of so many new PSU endeavors that have been launched these last few years, like Roar+ and White Out Tequila?
There could be strain, of course. But if there was, it seems more likely isolated to a small subsection of lettermen, and not wholly widespread. Which is the sort of factioning you’ll see in any not small group of people, especially ones with definitive ideas and egos like division one football lettermen.
AdamP84 asks: Is this so called “coaching search” all an elaborate ruse by Kraft to wait until after “The Game” this weekend to finally hire Ryan Day after he loses to Michigan again?
The latest rumors are that the hire will be someone completely out of left field that no one would expect and wasn’t on any of the boards, so this facetious question’s option for coach certainly would fit that bill! And we know Day knows how to beat Ohio State, because he’s coached the team into beating themselves (if only a very few number of times).
StillBannedbyNorthlandBowl asks: You have to pick one to be Penn State’s next coach. Chip Kelly, Brian Kelly, Charlie Kelly, or Kelly Kapowski. Provide at least one paragraph to support your choice.
Of all the Kelly options, including many more non-football ones that you didn’t mention in lieu of tossing out everyone’s favorite fictitious southern california late 20th century cheerleader, I’d absolutely go Chip Kelly. I actually think we could do far worse than him! I know that he failed at UCLA, so he’d be far from in my top ten, but he at least knows football. And hasn’t killed a kid (that we know of).
LarzLion asks: Seems like PSU women’s VB has had a middling season by their standards. I have seen a few matches and they are inconsistent at times. Do you see them getting a spark to go on a run in the tournament?
It truly all depends on which region they get bracketed into. The most recent brackets I’ve seen have put them in the Lincoln regional – which is the worst possible one, though luckily they’d be on the opposite side from the Huskers (who may be the most dominant team I’ve watched play volleyball since the middle of PSU’s own storied streak). Making it into the second weekend would itself be unexpected for this Penn State squad, but if they play how they’ve shown flashes of (most recently in a beatdown of an otherwise decent Michigan State team headed to the tournament themselves, but earlier a dismantling of a Wisconsin team that was admittedly without their starting center) they could pull an upset – likely not two.
Smee asks: Cael Sanderson autographs your white Penn State baseball hat. What color Sharpie do you give him to use? Follow-up, are the Adidas wrestling shoes better looking or uglier than the Nike shoes?
Are you kidding? Cael could use whatever dang color of sharpie he chooses. Even white on a white hat.
For the shoes, I think the adidas wrestling line overall seems superior to the nike wrestling gear. I’m cautiously optimistic about what we’re going to see for the non-football sports next year, especially volleyball and wrestling (and I really hope they bring back the pink and black shooty hoop jerseys).
kingkub asks: Going to attend the JMU-Coastal Carolina game this Saturday in Conway (Myrtle Beach).
To draw in fans, CC encourages you to download the app and when you go to the game they will give you unlimited free concessions all game long. Hot dogs, nachos, popcorn and soda. Anything else like beer is available for a charge.
This is not just for students or this game, it is all season long for all fans.
Have you ever heard of such a thing? I mean bars will often give free peanuts or spicy pub mix to encourage you to order more beverages but free food?
This is crazy (good)! I can’t imagine they’ll lose money on this, since they’ve probably had multiple marketing teams crunch the numbers – but dang, that’s pretty spectacular. I’d expect that the exclusions would be more extensive the better the team does, but even if it’s a severely limited free menu, this is absolutely a sure-fire way to get more families involved in the success of a local team.
I was in Myrtle over the summer, and was overjoyed to see the billboards advertising Coastal Carolina (love seeing power 5 teams get press) and this is one more way to build a fanbase and get butts in seats, I love it.
seemsez asks: Okay, let’s reverse the direction of inquiry. If you were assembling a crack team of legendary Penn State athletes based on the Nancy Meyers-penned classic “Father of the Bride” who would you have be:
1) Steve Martin
2) Martin Short
3) Kimberly Williams
Bonus: Which coach plays Nancy Meyers and (assuming this is a football game) what are the first two scripted offensive plays?
1. LaVar Arrington (he feels like the ultimate PSU dad right now)
2. Marcus Allen (he’s got the wacky goofball thing going on)
3. Michael Mauti (it’s the hair for me)
As much as I used to hate him, I’d have Kiffin play Meyers – he’s got the wit. The plays have obviously got to be a deep endzone shot, and some sort of fake/insane play, like a statue of liberty that has no chance of succeeding but of course does.
vern05 asks: After this (hunting) season I need to re-string my bow, I might paint the riser while I have it disassembled too. What color scheme should I use?
A) black riser, pink strings/cables (o.g. psu colors)
B) flat dark earth riser, chartreuse strings and cables
C) other
100% pink and black. Make sure it’s a bright-ass pink, too.
sundog21 asks: Why do humans like to pop bubble wrap so much?
What sentient being doesn’t get satisfaction from popping bubble wrap? It’s just soothing, and wonderful to take your stress out on. Much healthier than popping other things, like someone in the mouth.
Fudd, Elmer J asks: Peanut butter. Creamy or Crunchy?
Yes
I like both, and both have their uses! Obviously creamy is better for baking or using in things like crepes, and I prefer creamy if I’m using grape jelly on a PB&J sandwich; I prefer crunchy if I’m making a peanut butter sauce for ice cream or cake, or if I’m having strawberry or peach jam on my PB&J. I’d eat either on apples, too.
I’m an equal opportunity lover of all peanut butter types!
Darth Recon asks: This Thanksgiving I’m bringing a brisket (1 a.m. it goes on the pellet grill) and the hosts are preparing King crab and low country boil. What’s your favorite non-traditional Thanksgiving dish?
We don’t typically have non-traditional dishes at my family’s thanksgiving, but speaking of crepes – we’ve been known to do our familial doctor-your-own-filled-crepe spread on Thanksgiving for years there’s a home game on the schedule that weekend. It’s one of our favorite holiday meals, not just for breakfast (though that’s often when we do it) and always makes me happy.
