Smee asks: After facing perennial tough-out BYE this weekend, will PSU still be ranked #2 in the AP Poll? And if not, what happens to move them out of that spot?
Pre-season (and all early season) rankings are bullshit, and part of the BS is the inability of most pollsters to admit when they’re wrong–and look no further for evidence than Notre Dame being winless but still ranked. Because of that, I don’t think anything would drop the Nittany Lions out of the 2 spot, unfortunately. There’s no matchup
this week between two ranked teams high enough to impact PSU’s ranking (the only matchups between ranked opponents are #17 Texas Tech at #16 Utah, #22 Auburn at #11 Oklahoma, and #9 Illinois at #19 Indiana) so it looks like we’re doomed to be the higher ranking headed into the white out.
barneyk asks: If I told you before the season that going into the Oregon game, PSU would be 3-0 and outscoring their opponents 132-17, would you have had much angst about the game against the Ducks?
I currently have the same amount of angst headed into this game as I did preseason. I’m not incredibly anxious, and while I don’t begrudge people who are, nothing I’ve seen in any of Penn State’s three games so far this year has really made an impact on my expectations one way or the other; except, though, I’m pleasantly surprised with how quickly the defense has adapted to Jim Knowles’ scheme, especially after an overall disappointing first possession to lead off the first game against Nevada; call me old-fashioned, but there’s little I like more than starting off a game (and season) with a three-and-out.
Jiminsantafe asks: I love all these critics who think we are going to get dumped on by Oregon. Do they think our defense is not going to show up?
Oregon is a well-coached and -equipped team, and the game won’t be easy. But there’s a reason the betting line started at PSU by 3; the Ducks’ new quarterback will be starting his first road game at night in Happy Valley, and points will be very difficult for them to come by. The question is, how will the Penn State offense respond? Who will show up for them under the lights, on the biggest stage of the regular season?
I’m convinced that, not the least because it’s a white out, PSU will be much closer to dumping on Oregon than being dumped on. And nothing I’ve seen so far (and nothing I will see in the next week) will be able to convince me otherwise.
chulupabatman asks: Who’s the most under-appreciated player in past 25 years?
– To me it’s Hack. He was just ok following a great freshman year, but he’s the single most important player in program history by a wide margin. I think we collectively need to show more gratitude towards him. We are not where we are today without him committing and a slew of 4 stars following in the next couple years thereafter.
Who’s the most underrated player in the past 25 years?
– This is trickier as it’s someone that probably has a bigger impact on the game than you realize without filling up the stat sheet, like a Kevin Givens or Austin Johnson who’d clog up lanes all day or an edge setting OT. I think one skill guy that comes to mind is Derek Moye who had a couple of really solid seasons but when we mention the best WRs of yesteryear (Dotson, Hamilton, ARob, Godwin, KJ, the foursome of 2005) he’s not usually mentioned despite a lot of success
There’s a bit of recency bias in the responses in the mailbag questions post, and I’m going to go further back than most and say the most under-appreciated player this century is Zack Mills. Without him, 324 doesn’t happen; without him, we don’t have the 2005 resurgent year. He was practically the only decent offensive player in blue and white in many of the games he played, and by the end of his career at PSU, he was held together by medical tape and a dream. He’s easy to overlook, but he shouldn’t be – the dark years would have been far darker without him.
As for the most underrated player, I’m going to go in another unexpected direction – Jordan Norwood. Often overshadowed by his fellow wide receivers Deon Butler and Derrick Williams, Norwood never had a season catching less than 30 passes/400 yards at PSU (despite lining up beside the aforementioned two stars, a feat that any wide receiver on the Nittany Lions’ squad the last few years would covet) and all four seasons he played here, he averaged over 10 yards per catch. He also spent eight years in the NFL and has a super bowl ring, so this State High product is definitely unheralded.
I’m interested to hear more about who the commentariot thinks are overlooked and underrated, too!
Gerry Dincher asks: Which current Penn State coach do you think would be the most fun at a tailgate party? Which coach would be the least fun at the same party?
This most likely depends on your definition of the word “fun”.
I can absolutely picture Knowles parking on a couch (or sitting at a dining room table), sketching out different defensive schemes and explaining coverage and presnap reads – and to me, that sounds about as fun as anything I can imagine happening at a tailgate attended by the coaching staff.
If we’re talking traditional drinking and eating, and maybe a few lawn games, I agree with the few comments naming Ty Howle as an obvious choice. Of course, he’s also a PSU alum, which means he’s got tailgating in his blood at this point, so he’d fit right in with us in the lots.
kavija66 asks: So I was perusing the PSU coaching staff credentials and came across this under Justin Lustig’s profile:
2022-23 – Vanderbilt (Associate Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator/Tight Ends)
2021 – Vanderbilt (Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator/Tight Ends)
Who can tell me the difference between Assistant Head Coach and Associate Head Coach?
An associate head coach is a higher-level position to an assistant head coach; this isn’t super dissimilar to an offensive or defensive coordinator being a higher-level position to a co-coordinator.
Note that Terry Smith was James Franklin’s assistant head coach from 2016 to 2020, and was promoted to associate head coach in 2021 (a position he’s held since).
Scoop Dawg asks: I don’t visit other team sites. Do the fan bases of other teams hate their team as much as BSD seems to hate Penn State?
Every fan base has their share of delusional and quintessentially unhappy fans – and in not all of those fan bases are those two groups practically identical (some, like an EMU superfan notorious around these parts, are a bit delusional in the opposite direction).
I do think, though, that PSU has a slate of beat writers that are more unhappy and negative about the program than most other big time schools, whose beat writers seem to be more homeristic in their takes. But, in an effort to recognize my own biases, that may just because I have significantly more knowledge of PSU beat writers.
LarzLion asks: Which Big 10 school would you say is the most under performing since their admission to the conference?
I would go with Nebraska since they have been downright mediocre since joining and given their history, should be better. It is too small a sample to use any of the west coast schools and UMD and Rutgr typically are middling and they are for the most part there in most years.
By underperforming, do you mean relative to their performance prior to joining the conference, or relative to their own program’s hopes and expectations?
If the former, I’m not sure how you can go with any school besides Nebraska, as you mentioned. Aside from their volleyball prominence (though they’ve only managed to win the national title in that sport two times since joining the Big Ten, one less championship than Penn State in that same span), they’ve been a relative disappointment in the sport they’ve historically been the most prominent in. And they also provided their wrestling team commemorative rings after finishing second at the NCAA tournament (by 60 points) this past year.
I think UCLA may end up giving Nebraska a run for their money, though. Woof, this year is going to be rough going if you’re a Bruin football fan.
Smee asks: Nebraska gets Michigan at home this weekend. Who ya got? And, if it’s Nebby, what are their chances to then be 10-0 when they come to Happy Valley on November 22nd?
I really hope that Nebraska beats Michigan. I find Sherrone Moore just as whiny as his predecessor, and I’d love nothing more than watching another year of them having expectations and, due to a lack of Stallions, being unable to fulfill them. I’m not a fan of Nebraska, but I don’t dislike Matt Rhule and at this point, the Huskers annoy me far less. And their fans are far less pretentious. I also feel like maybe they’ve paid their penance for letting go a consistent 9-3 head coach at this point, so they more deserve nicer things. Not a big ten championship or anything, but a win over Michigan would be great (and since we play them later on in the year, I want all the teams we’ll potentially beat to have better records).
vern05 asks: What sort of odds could I have given you 3 weeks ago that the only thing stopping Clemson and ND from starting a combined 0-5 was the Tigers coming back from a two-score halftime deficit at home vs Troy…50-1? 500-1? 5000-1?
Oh, darn – a Dabo Swinney-coached team is underperforming. Shoot. Anyway…
I am actually more surprised about Notre Dame, but not completely shocked. They made the finals last year and every year there seems to be a team that had a long run the prior year that falls short; as long as it’s not us this year, why not the Irish? Even their handsome coach can’t make me like them, especially since they poached our running backs coach.
I’m mostly over them poaching our basketball coach by now, though. Mostly.
AndOthersReceivingVotes asks: What are the chances of Brent Pry replacing Chris Ash as the ND defensive coordinator?
I think it would be an excellent hire & a huge upgrade for the Domers.
Chris Ash isn’t a bad defensive coordinator; he, like Pry, was not a successful head coach at a program that can be difficult to win at, and he was integral in Ohio State’s 2014 national title team. I think Notre Dame’s defense will get better as the season goes on, as Golden’s defense last year was pretty much elite and that’s not easy to replace.
I like Brent Pry, but this talk is simply premature. He did so much to lay the foundation for our last three (four, counting this year) years of great defenses, but it’s not a stretch to say that our defenses have gotten a smidge better since he left – going from consistently top fifteen in most metrics to top five to ten may seem like splitting hairs, but they’ve simply been elite since Manny Diaz. And while very good, under Pry the defense let up far too many points (especially in the fourth quarter of close games) in tough situations for me to be super upset that he left, especially with the upgrades we’ve been able to have in that role.
His buy out at VT was quite significant, so I expect he won’t be on the sidelines for at least another year. So who knows what 2027 will bring!
wvpsufan asks: I just finished watching “America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys” which was a slightly sordid behind the scenes look at the cowboys. It really wasn’t very revealing. My question is why hasn’t there ever been a tell all book or movie about college football? I’m sure that there are plenty of tales to tell and there are too many people to pay off to keep it all bottled up
There’ve been a lot of college football books, looks into different “scandals” and behind the scenes takes. Perhaps they haven’t been as widely publicized, but they’re there – Fourth and Long is one that I recommend about Penn State, and I’d love to hear some other recommendations of docs or books on other topics in the comments!
kavija66 asks: What’s your best guess on the wrestling lineup we see at nationals this season?
Feel free to laugh at me later when this is completely wrong, but here’s how I have it:
125-Lilledahl
133-Blaze (Ono redshirt)
141-Nagao (Davis redshirt)
149-SVN
157-Kasak (Duke redshirt)
165-Mesenbrink
174-Haines
184-Welch
197-Barr
285-Mirasola
No room for Sealey, Henckel, or Cunningham is insane.
I think it’ll be tough to keep PJ Duke on the sidelines this year, and so we may see Tyler redshirt. I also think what you have listed above feels like conventional wisdom at 133/141 due to Ono being so new to folkstyle, but I actually would be surprised if he does redshirt. He and Blaze are roommates and challenge each other quite well – I wouldn’t be surprised if they are the starters at 133 and 141, and both Nagao and Davis are used sporadically.
It’s truly an embarrassment of riches at this point, and despite a relatively disappointing end to 2025 with only two national champs, all but 1 PSUer ended the national tournament with a win, which is nuts to think about. We could potentially set another scoring record for the third year in a row!
JayMPSU asks: How hard can it really be to operate a scoreboard/jumbotron?
Apparently, much harder than any of us realize! All of this new AI and technology I’m sure is being used doesn’t mean that fonts match or that the math in the displayed time of possession has any semblance of reality.
But that also doesn’t mean I’d like to go back to Fenway Park-style analog boards, either – that just seems exhausting. I miss the early big board technology, but we’ll never get it back. All I want to see on scoreboards is the score, time of possession, and some key stats! That doesn’t feel like it should be too hard.
Smee asks: From a family member’s situation… let’s say you are on a forced liquid-diet through a nose tube for 4 weeks. When you are finally given the all-clear to consume solid food again, what’s the first thing you would eat?
I’ve definitely got a sweet tooth, so it most likely would be something in the dessert realm. My favorites tend to be peanut butter and chocolate based, so some sort of chocolate peanut butter cake or pie would likely be my go-to.
If I’m not full after the dessert, I’d definitely have some sort of potato dish – like loaded fries or poutine. That sounds divine.
Liongame asks: What’s your favorite Redford film?
Redford’s career has been insane, and the fact that he was as prolific as he’s been up until quite recently (actively producing until this year!) is amazing.
There’s so many great selections to choose from (including recent mainstream hits like Winter Soldier, which might be the best of the Marvel movies), but I think I’d go with The Sting.
UTmountainlion asks: Next week is my wife’s birthday and we are flying down to Disney in Orlando for a quick visit (one day in the park). I know next to nothing about the park and she has planned it all out except I can probably choose one good meal for us. Her loves: Star Wars, ice hockey, beer, seafood, wine, cheese, barbecue. She does not like: paninis, heavy pasta dishes, mushrooms, noisy dining rooms. Is there a good place to eat that won’t be a madhouse on a weekday in September?
I’ve only been to Disney twice in my life, once as a small child (when I visited Epcot and Magic Kingdom) and once as a 20-something (when I visited MGM). So, basically, I’m of no help! It sounds like you’ve got yourself reservations for a delicious meal already, but I’d love to see additional recommendations in the comments, if only so I can bookmark them when/if I get back down there.
Liongame asks: Anybody else not understand the adult Disney thing? What am I missing?
It’s nostalgia, I think, in an often scary and offputting world. When folks watch or are immersed in things that remind them of their childhood, no matter how capitalistic, it can be comforting – even if our memories of that time and what life was like are now tinted rose. I’ve been wanting to go back for years, if only to see all of the new Star Wars and Marvel additions of the past years. It’s escapism, purely, and folks should be able to love what they love, as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else.
Smee asks: If you were going to do one of the stock Rhine River cruises (Basel to Amsterdam), which cruise line would you use? The standard – Viking — or one of the others (Disney?!?).
Motion sickness has been the bane of my existence my whole life, so I’m afraid going on any sort of cruise is not in the cards for me (boats are the absolute worst mode of transportation with regards to that as well). This sucks exponentially because I’d love nothing more than to go on a Rhine river (or Mediterranean) cruise, and have and will continue to live vicariously through those I know who are able to take them. I’ve heard fantastic things about, especially, Virgin cruise lines, so that would likely be the one I’d take if I could. Definitely not Disney, as I’d spend money to go to Orlando but not be on a boat with the characters.
