Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1531683
FEBRUARY 2025/VOL. 40, NO. 6 MANAGING EDITOR Matt Herb CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Stu Coman Cathy Jones Chris Riffer WEBSITE PUBLISHER Sean Fitz WEBSITE EDITOR Nate Bauer STAFF WRITER Greg Pickel RECRUITING REPORTER Ryan Snyder FOOTBALL ANALYST Thomas Frank Carr CONTRIBUTING WRITER Jim Carlson PHOTOGRAPHY Daniel Althouse, Frank Hyatt, Steve Manuel, Mark Selders COVER PHOTOS Mark Selders/Penn State Athletics DESIGN Jeanette Blankenship Chris Miller F F F PUBLISHER Mark Panus BUSINESS ANALYST Sarah Boone CIRCULATION MANAGER Tristin Shears ADVERTISING SALES Maria Taustine (502) 552-4390 CUSTOMER SERVICE Lauren Gordon, Cathy Jones (800) 421-7751 BLUE WHITE ILLUSTRATED (USPS 742-550) is published monthly, except June, by Coman Publishing Co., a division of On3 Media, Inc., located at 905 W. Main St., Suite 24F, Durham, NC 27701. A one-year (11 issues) subscription is $68.00. First-class, digital and foreign rates available on request. Periodicals postage paid at Durham, NC 27701 and additional mailing offices. Printed by The Papers, Milford, Ind. POSTMASTER: Please send address correc- tions/changes to BLUE WHITE ILLUSTRATED, PO Box 2331, Durham NC 27702-2331. For advertising or subscription information call 1-919-688-0218 or write BLUE WHITE ILLUSTRATED, PO Box 2331, Durham NC 27702. Site Lines C O M M E N T S F R O M T H E L I O N S D E N A T B L U E W H I T E I L L U S T R A T E D . C O M W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M ON PENN STATE'S FOOTBALL OUTLOOK IN 2025 Very clear path to the playoff again next year. Obviously, at Ohio State is the toughest game. Oregon is winnable at home early in the season. Will depend greatly on who their QB is and how their defense shapes up after portal season, but we can beat them at home. Other than that, there's not a scary game on the schedule, unless one of those teams becomes next year's version of Indiana. We probably won't be gifted as easy a [College Football Playoff] path as we had this year, but we should expect to be there, barring a rash of injuries to key players. — furrdogg Have to beat Oregon. I'm not sure two losses with that schedule gets us in the tournament. — Anon1718577329 My preseason expectations will be identical to pretty much all previous seasons: We have a good chance in every game, and if a few breaks go our way it could be a very special season. Expectations, for some, are dangerous because once weaknesses reveal themselves, few stray from their initial expectations. … I'm rarely disappointed by my expectations because they're fluid, not set in stone. There are so many unknowns going into every season that I tend to just enjoy the annual ride. — mickey_PSU It's still premature based on final roster with stay/go deci- sions, but 10-2 should be baseline and probably leads to host- ing a [playoff] game again. PSU has distanced itself from the middle of the league, and two of the non-OSU/Oregon games that could be viewed as "tougher," Indiana and Nebraska, are at home — psu08 Everyone knows the script for next season: 10-2 with losses to Ohio State and Oregon. Lose a first-round road playoff game to a higher-seeded team. — Phoenixville Lion ON THE LIONS' 27-24 LOSS TO NOTRE DAME IN THE ORANGE BOWL Drew [Allar] missed some throws, no doubt, but you can do a heck of a lot worse when your wide receivers are not able to get open to catch a single ball. It also makes it tough to get in a rhythm when there are no easy com- pletions. The degree of difficulty is completely different than what some other QBs are faced with. — Tdrich07 The WRs are exactly who we have known them to be. They look fine … in some cases, against inferior talent. When they play against the better teams, they disappear. It's been this way for years now. Credit to Andy Ko- telnicki and James Franklin for building a passing game around a tight end and two running backs. — KJB32812 Maybe I'm just overreacting because I'm so sad. … I've been a big fan of Drew and felt he really played well all year except for the last three games. I would just like to see him relax and trust himself more in some big mo- ments. But likely, it's when people just aren't open that it looks like that. — Augusta2003 I'm only 33, so this year sits firmly atop the list of successful seasons I've been conscious for, at least on paper, but I can't help feeling like this was the best chance we'll have this decade. James Franklin taking responsibility for our losses is great, and I appreciate that about him, but it's also his responsibility to delegate authority to the right talent and coaches going forward. You can get better and you can get worse. You can never stay the same, and we need to get better. — PSUParty Is Penn State cursed? How does PSU win the turnover battle and hold Notre Dame to under 3 yards per rushing attempt and not win this game? Not to mention, PSU got dominant performances from Abdul Carter and Dani Dennis-Sutton. It's just so, so frustrating. — Chester Copperpot I made the decision a few years ago that all I cared about was trajectory, and we are on a great trajectory. Everyone here, at the start of the season, would have been psyched to have the year we had, and we are going to be really good again next year. Hopefully, everyone in Lasch (and this board) can take a day to grieve and then move on to appreciating the season we had. — leftcoastlion 4 F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 5 James Franklin will be looking to lead Penn State back to the playoff next fall after a 13-3 finish and an appearance in the semifinals this year. PHOTO BY STEVE MANUEL