Blue White Illustrated

FOOTBALL SEPTEMBER 1 APPALACHIAN STATE.............................3:30 p.m. (BTN) 8 at Pitt.......................................................8 p.m. (ABC) 15 KENT STATE................................................ Noon (FS1) 21 at Illinois.................................................. 9 p.m. (FS1) 29 OHIO STATE........................................................... TBA OCTOBER 13 MICHIGAN STATE....................................3:30 or 4 p.m. 20 at Indiana............................ TBA (ABC, ESPN or ESPN2) 27 IOWA.....................................................................TBA NOVEMBER 3 at Michigan........................................................... TBA 10 WISCONSIN........................................................... TBA 17 at Rutgers............................................................. TBA 24 MARYLAND............................................................ TBA BASEBALL 15-34, 3-21 FEBRUARY 16 W at Elon...........................................................2-1 17 W at Elon...........................................................8-6 18 W at Elon...........................................................3-2 23-25 Penn State Tournament at USA Baseball, Car y, N.C. 23 L UMBC.................................................... 2-1 24 L Monmouth..............................................9-8 25 L St. John's.............................................18-4 MARCH 3 L at UC Santa Barbara..................................... 10-4 4 L at UC Santa Barbara....................................... 4-0 5 W at UC Santa Barbara....................................... 8-7 8 L at Grand Canyon.............................................8-1 9 L at Grand Canyon.............................................8-7 10 L at Grand Canyon.......................... 8-7 (11 innings) 17 W NJIT............................................................... 4-3 17 W NJIT............................................................... 5-3 18 L NJIT............................................................... 8-6 20 BUCKNELL.................................................. Postponed 21 PITTSBURGH............................................... Postponed 23 L at Rutgers......................................................4-1 24 L at Rutgers......................................................1-0 25 W at Rutgers......................................................9-3 28 L CORNELL................................................ 10-6 (8) 30 L PURDUE.........................................................3-2 31 L PURDUE.........................................................6-3 L PURDUE.........................................................9-0 APRIL 3 WEST VIRGINIA............................................ Postponed 6 L at Minnesota..................................................7-6 7 L at Minnesota................................................17-2 8 L at Minnesota..................................................8-2 10 L West Virginia at Pittsburgh............3-2 (10 innings) 13 L OHIO STATE....................................................1-0 14 L OHIO STATE....................................................5-1 L OHIO STATE..................................................19-8 18 W MOUNT ST. MARY'S........................................ 7-2 20 L at Michigan.................................................. 19-5 21 L at Michigan..................................8-7 (11 innings) 22 L at Michigan.................................................. 14-2 T H E M A I N E V E N T WOMEN'S SOCCER WEST VIRGINIA @ PENN STATE 7 : 3 0 P . M . | A U G . 1 7 | J E F F R E Y F I E L D | T V T B A | "We're already counting down the days until we can be back home at Je8rey Field," coach Erica Dambach said in May when she announced the Nittany Lions' 2018 schedule. Lucky for her – and for fans of one of Penn State's most successful fall sports teams – that wait won't be very long. The women's soccer squad will kick o8 the university's 2018-19 athletic year when it takes on West Virginia on opening night of the Penn State Invitational. The Lions have had a 7ercely competitive ri- valry with the Mountaineers, winning eight of the 17 matches in the series, while dropping seven and tying two. The teams met twice in Morgantown last year, with the Lions falling 2-1 early in the regular season but avenging that defeat in Novem- ber with a 3-1 victory in the third round of the NCAA tournament. Eight days a9er facing the Mountaineers, PSU will welcome 2017 Women's College Cup runner-up UCLA to Je8rey Field, so August 7gures to be a big month. Said Dambach, "This up- coming schedule will test our team in the nonconference slate and in the Big Ten, as our team looks to make a run at the 2018 national championship." –M.H. SCORECARD to keep his focus trained on the Lions. "Coach Gattis leaving was a big hit, but Coach Corley coming in, me getting to meet him, talk with him and getting to jell with him really quickly as fast as I did, it was de7nitely great," George said. "It kept my con7dence up. I know that I'll still be in great hands, still be able to get better as a player. And then playing under Coach Franklin, one of the coaching greats, it's a great opportunity for me. I'm excited." For Penn State fans, it's easy to get ex- cited about George's physical tools. At 6-foot-2, he's the Lions' third-tallest receiver behind junior Juwan Johnson and fellow freshman Justin Shorter, both of whom stand 6-4. Combine that size with the breakaway speed that jumps out on George's highlight reel, and it's clear Franklin and company will have a special athlete on their hands. It's also clear that the coaches won't need to do much coaxing to get George to buy into the less-glamorous aspects of the game. "I like to block," he said. "Some receivers don't really like to block, but blocking is probably the thing I do best. So I de7nitely see my physi- cality as an important part of my game." Academics played a major role in George's decision to join the Nittany Lions, and he said his goal for his fresh- man year is to maintain a grade-point average of at least 3.25. As for football, he hopes to use his 7rst season on campus to carve out a role for himself – and he may get that opportunity as the coaching sta8 looks to rebuild a graduation-depleted pass- catching corps. With Shorter, a 7ve-star prospect, and fellow four-star wideout Jahan Dotson joining him as 7rst-year players in Penn State's receivers room, George is likely going to have to compete throughout his career to earn a share of the spotlight. That doesn't seem to bother him one bit. "I'm ready to come in, ready to go to work, ready to bring some W's, ready to come win some championships," he said. ■ GEORGE FROM PAGE 26

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