Penn State category, Page 68
Sports stories of the year: Steelers’ historic start; Pirates achieve infamy
Here we are, in the victory formation to end 2020, looking to run out the clock on a year you probably never want to see again. But before we get to 2021, here’s a look back at some of the top sports stories of the year. Steelers’ record start, sobering...
Indiana pulls out overtime win over Penn State
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Trayce Jackson-Davis scored 21 points and Rob Phinisee hit a stepback jumper for the win as Indiana held off Penn State 87-85 in overtime Wednesday night. Jackson-Davis and Phinisee (11 points) were among five Hoosiers (6-4, 1-2 Big Ten) to score in double figures as Indiana shot...
Year in Review: Pandemic-altered 2020 Pittsburgh sports seasons won’t soon be forgotten
When historians proclaim 2020 as a sports year unlike any other, no hyperbole will be attached to such sentiment. The coronavirus pandemic that affected so many lives across the world also drastically altered the sports landscape, causing major events to be canceled or postponed and impacting athletes from the professional...
Penn State end Jayson Oweh declares for the 2021 NFL Draft
Penn State defensive end Jayson Oweh has declared for the 2021 NFL Draft. The junior from New Jersey made his announcement Saturday, exactly a week after the Nittany Lions’ 4-5 season ended with a victory over Illinois inside of an empty Beaver Stadium. “After careful and precise consideration with my...
Penn State starts fast, fades quickly against No. 18 IllinoisVideo
STATE COLLEGE — Illinois coach Brad Underwood isn’t going to change his mind or his tune all season, especially if Ayo Dosunmu keeps playing like this. Dosunmu scored 21 of his 30 points in the second half to lead the No. 18 Fighting Illini past Penn State, 98-81, on Wednesday...
AP All-Big Ten: Ohio State’s Fields, Penn State’s Toney honored
Quarterback Justin Fields repeated as offensive player of the year and is joined by three of his teammates on The Associated Press All-Big Ten football team announced Tuesday. Defensive end Shaka Toney was the only Penn State player picked for the first team. Penn State guard Mike Miranda, tight end...
Pitt, Penn State, WVU players honored as Pro Football Focus All-Americans
Pitt defensive end Rashad Weaver, Penn State safety Jaquan Brisker and West Virginia slot defender Tykee Smith were named first-team selections Monday to the Pro Football Focus All-America Team. “Weaver finished his season with a 90.0 pass-rush grade and produced multiple pressures in every single game played,” PFF wrote. “And...
PSUAC cancels fall and winter athletic seasons
The athletic programs in the Penn State University Athletic Conference, including Penn State New Kensington, Beaver, Fayette, Greater Allegheny and Shenango, continue to come to terms with Friday’s decision by the conference’s executive committee to cancel all intercollegiate athletics competition for men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer and...
Tim Benz: Wanna blame Notre Dame for College Football Playoff mess? Me too, but we can’t
The easiest thing in the sports world to do is to hate Notre Dame. The arrogance. The individualism. The hype. The specially catered ACC membership rules. The money. The independent television network deal. So when the Fighting Irish were drubbed 34-10 by Clemson in the ACC Championship Game, that resulted...
Completing the season was a triumph for James Franklin and Penn State
At 4-5, Penn State’s football team finished with a losing record. The team’s decision to decline a bowl invitation — made following a 56-21 home win against Illinois on Saturday — will guarantee a sub-.500 mark for the first time since 2004, when many members of the current squad were...
Penn State tight end Pat Freiermuth declares for 2021 NFL Draft
Penn State junior Pat Freiermuth declared for the 2021 NFL Draft. The 2019 All-American and 2020 Big Ten tight end of the year made the expected announcement Sunday, just a day after the Lions topped Illinois, 56-21, to end their season at 4-5. “It has been an absolute honor representing...
Penn State decides against playing in a bowl game
Shortly after winning their fourth straight game, members of the Penn State football team met Saturday night and decided not to participate in a bowl game this season. Coach James Franklin and vice president for intercollegiate athletics Sandy Barbour announced the decision late Saturday, saying it was the players’ decision...
Jahan Dotson powers Penn State past Illinois for 4th straight win
Jahan Dotson sliced his way through Illinois defenders as if he were juking through a gauntlet of orange practice cones on Saturday night. It’s become typical for Penn State’s top wideout who has posted standout performances all season inside Beaver Stadium, where the Nittany Lions (4-5) beat Illinois, 56-21, to...
Jahan Dotson steps up as Penn State’s top wide receiver
Despite being Penn State’s leader in receptions (46), receiving yards (695) and touchdown receptions (six), wide receiver Jahan Dotson still gets chided, albeit in a brotherly way, by his peers. “My teammates always joke around with me saying that I’m not fast,” Dotson said via video conference with media Saturday....
Tim Benz: Adopt the 2020 chaos! Include Cincinnati, Coastal Carolina in College Football Playoff.
The most overused phrase of 2020 is, “Hey, it’s 2020!” Well, allow me to employ it one more time while discussing college football. Hey, it’s 2020! So what better year to bust the College Football Playoff norms than this year? The selection committee should embrace the chaos and admit either...
Penn State linebacker Jesse Luketa eager to keep playing
With this season’s football schedule pockmarked by the coronavirus pandemic, the Big Ten conference added an extra game to every team’s schedule for what has been dubbed “Champions Week.” A matchup between a 3-5 Penn State team and an Illinois squad at 2-5 doesn’t exactly resemble a conference title game,...
Penn State’s James Franklin laments lack of campus visits, in-state talent on signing day
In one sense, Penn State’s recruiting class was typical for coach James Franklin. “One of the things that I’ve been proud of since we’ve been here, really throughout my career, we’ve have very little drama on signing day, how we go about the process,” Franklin said during a video conference...
Penn State’s Jayson Oweh, Shaka Toney named to Big Ten first team
Penn State defensive linemen Jayson Oweh and Shaka Toney were named to the Big Ten’s first team as selected by the conference coaches Wednesday. In eight games this season, Oweh had 38 tackles (20 solo, 18 assisted). Toney appeared in eight games and had 25 tackles (19 solo, six assisted)...
Penn State’s Rasheed Walker looks forward to ‘Champions Week’ game against Illinois
Penn State offensive tackle Rasheed Walker isn’t overly concerned with his team’s losing record. Or even the potential of going to a bowl game this winter. He’s just happy to be playing, considering the Big Ten nearly canceled the 2020-21 campaign because of the coronavirus pandemic. “I’m just thankful for...
Penn State tight end Pat Freiermuth selected for Big Ten’s Kwalick-Clark award
Penn State’s Pat Freiermuth was selected as winner of the Big Ten Kwalick-Clark Tight End of the Year. Appearing in four games this season, Freiermuth had 23 receptions, 310 receiving yards and a touchdown. He has not played since Nov. 14 because of an undisclosed injury. The award is named...
Dickinson scores 20 to lift Michigan past Penn St. 62-58Video
Hunter Dickinson scored 20 points, including the tying and winning scores, as Michigan scrapped past Penn State, 62-58, in a low-scoring grinder of a Big Ten opener Sunday. It was a breakout game for Michigan’s freshman starting center, who pulled down seven rebounds and blocked three shots. Dickinson scored 11...
Halftime corrections led to Penn State’s third win
Penn State’s football team held its senior day Saturday in conjunction with its 39-24 home win against Michigan State at Beaver Stadium. As impressive as the final score was for a send off to the senior class, things looked dire by halftime as Michigan State led 21-10. What led to...
Penn State’s football team to face Illinois
Penn State’s football team will face Illinois on Saturday at Beaver Stadium in University Park as part of Big Ten Championship weekend. The Week 9 game is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. and be broadcast on FS1. The schools have not met since Sept. 21, 2018, when Penn State...
Sean Clifford leads Penn State past Michigan State
UNIVERSITY PARK — Little by little over the last three games, Penn State has come closer to being the team coach James Franklin thought he’d have before the season began. A come-from-behind, 39-24 win over Michigan State on Saturday is evidence enough for Franklin to know the Nittany Lions have...
Penn State defensive coordinator Brent Pry seeks improved tackling
During his video conference with media Thursday, Penn State defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Brent Pry displayed an ample amount of salt and pepper in his beard. “That’s what 0-5 will do to you!” Pry quipped. “(Shoot), I’m down about 20 pounds, too.” The program lost the first five games...
