We’ll start this in-season mailbag post with a helpful reminder from LarzLion:
Just remember it’s ‘add’ and not ‘ahh’ when you pronounce the school that PSU is playing on Saturday. Nev-add-a.
Good looking out from the BSD commentariot. Thanks, Larz!
Now, onto the mailbag questions.
Jiminsantafe asks: Welcome back Cari. How early in the game do [you] expect that most of the starters will be pulled from the game?
Thanks, Jim! It’s good to be back. I see from the mailbag questions post that we’re all handling
the new BSD platform exactly as any of us who’ve been here for more than a few years would expect (including yours truly). We’ll get thru it, somehow…death, taxes, and our corner of the internet going strong, with some of the same characters and new ones thrown in. The more things change, the more they stay the same
As for your actual question that you asked, for the offense, I’d expect maybe one series after the half, and then we’ll see Grunk in at QB and a slew of fresh faces in at running back (Quinton Martin) and tight end (Andrew Rappelyea) – as opposed to wide receiver, where we’ll see those fresh faces starting. On o-line, we might see some rotation earlier, since we’re the deepest at that position as we’ve been in probably close to 30 years.
On defense, we’ll probably see 2nd and 3rd string rotate in no later than Nev-add-uh’s third possession, if not second or third. And I’d expect the starters to rotate in once more to start the second half before sitting out the rest of the game fairly quickly.
Nittpicker asks: How many wolves in a pack?
Not enough to make a difference in this week’s game!
Gerry Dincher asks: Which current Penn State football player is your favorite to watch?
Jury’s out for me until probably around 7pm on Saturday, since the ones I liked to watch the most last year all left. But here’s an (inexhaustive) list of some that might be up there, in alphabetical order so as not to show any bias whatsover:
- Drew Allar
- Dani Dennis-Sutton
- Zane Durant
- Trebor Peña
- Luke Reynolds
- Tony Rojas
- Devonte Ross
- Zion Tracy
- Zakee Wheatley
Just kidding, it’s the tandem of Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen and it’ll take a lot to even be close. Even with all of those players I listed being really dang good.
LocalYocal asks: How rough will it be here, in Nittany Nation in general and in my household if Penn State DOESN’T win it all this year? All the talk has made it pretty difficult to accept any other outcome, even though that outcome is just statistically less likely to occur than not.
I’ve lived every football season with a firm expectation that we will lose to Ohio State and at least one other game every year since I got my hopes up in 2017, and ever since I came to terms with that, it’s made it easier to accept these outcomes. After all, either we WIN (as you point out, statistically unlikely), or I’m smugly correct (which is always a good time for me, and rarely a good time for those around me).
There’s a reason why I, and so many others, avoid the boards as a rule after any loss, and don’t return to the comment sections until after our football team’s next win. It’s also a reason why those of us who are wrestling fans can stay more even keeled – we always have Cael Sanderson’s squad to make us feel better about being Penn State fans.
LarzLion asks: What are the chances that a lime green pleasure toy would be thrown on to the West Shore field this weekend?
How about the Oregon game?
Close to none. That’s only really been happening at women’s sporting events (WNBA, to be more specific), and in my opinion the kind of person who’d interrupt professional female (mostly Black, mostly lesbian) athletes doing their job in that way would most definitely not be the kind of person to extend that same indignity to male athletes.
Jeff_in_Carlsbad asks: RAF premier event with Nickal and Nolf or LSU/Clemson on Saturday evening?
I’ll probably still be in the tailgating lots for a bit, but likely will be following both on my phone. Those around me will likely most be interested in the football game (and the announcers late on Thursday night’s surprising beatdown by USF of Boise State would approve), but I’ll be content with score updates on that one and would be more likely to pay closer attention to the inaugural professional freestyle wrestling event.
For those unaware of the wrestling event, here’s the main event bout card:
All but three of those bouts sound fantastic! I’ll let you all figure out which ones I’m referring to…
UTmountainlion asks: With so many spots team in the hunt for a title this year, how would you rank them in terms of chances to win a natty? I’m thinking about Football, WVB, Wrestling, Men’s Hockey, but maybe there are others to consider.
The order in which we’re likely to win natties this year, from likeliest to least likely, are:
- Wrestling
- Hockey
- Football
- Volleyball
Wrestling is first, because duh. We lost a few multi-year starters and a five-time champ, and no big deal, just gained an international champ in Masa Ono, who beat Spencer Lee earlier this year…yeah, we’ll be just fine there.
Hockey is on a MAJOR upswing and I encourage everyone to make sure you’re paying attention this year. Gavin McKenna isn’t just the best recruit Penn State hockey has ever landed – he’s the best recruit college hockey has had in a few years. A player like that joining a returning final four team? It’s a recipe for a magical season
Football is third, not for lack of talent and motivation – but mostly because it’s so tough to win a title in NCAA football for a program that hasn’t won one in decades. It’s just difficult to break in, and I won’t expect it until I see it happen. Penn State pessimism at its finest.
The only reason it’s ahead of volleyball, though, is because of the flat-out parity in collegiate womens volleyball. There are no less than five or six teams who legitimately could win it all and it wouldn’t be surprising at all. Couple that with the fact that we won it all last year (and it’s tougher nowadays to repeat than it was a decade ago, when we last did so), and the fact that Nebraska has the talent they’ve had for years but now have a coach in her prime ready to utilize and properly motivate that talent, I think final four would be fantastic for the Nittany Lions volleyball squad this year. Go ahead, Kennedy Martin, prove me wrong!!
PSU_Lions_84 asks: My 1991 Chevy pick-up truck has just over 106K miles on it. I use it for hauling mulch, garden soil, and the occasional load of gravel. I am having new shocks installed. Wise or foolish decision?
P.S. No, it is not for sale. I anticipate passing it down to my grandkids – and I don’t even have any yet.
I know next to nothing about cars, but I do know that I bought a used mazda SUV earlier this year and didn’t sell my 12-year-old, 140k mile Ford Edge because I love it so much (and it still runs!) so I’m not really one to give unbiased advice. But I’m sure there’ll be some great tips and responses in the comments!
EagleLionSly asks: How do you feel about Trav & Tay-Tay getting engaged? Do you think it will be America’s equivalent of a royal wedding?
I’m so excited about this – watching and listening to the podcast, you can tell how much they love each other and the joy they have in their relationship. It’s wonderful to see for both of them, and feels like my worlds colliding. It undoubtedly is as close as we’ve gotten to a royal wedding in quite some time here, but the biggest reason I made sure to post this question is because I love this gif you found. It epitomizes so much about their relationship, and the parasocial relationship so many swifties have with their relationship.
