Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1545007
JUNE/JULY 2026/VOL. 41, NO. 10 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 Steve Manuel, Mark Selders, Frank Hyatt COVER PHOTO Mark Selders/Penn State Athletics DESIGN Jeanette Blankenship Chris Miller F F F PUBLISHER Mark Panus BUSINESS ANALYST Sarah Boone CIRCULATION COORDINATOR Beverly Taylor MARKETING COORDINATOR Elena Rehberg ADVERTISING SALES Maria Taustine (502) 552-4390 CUSTOMER SERVICE: (800) 421-7751 Cathy Jones, Elena Rehberg BLUE WHITE ILLUSTRATED (USPS 742-550) is published monthly, except June, by Coman Publishing Co., a division of On3 Media, Inc., located at 922 Broad St., Suite D, Durham, NC 27705. A one-year (11 issues) subscription is $75.00. 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 27702-2331. 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 2026 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE … It would be nice if Temple is good enough to give a boost to our strength of schedule, but not good enough to give us a scare in Week 2. — RunTheBall Northwestern could be a problem. It's a Friday night game, and the first game at their new sta- dium. — Shep The schedule is interesting. On the surface, I want to say easy, but there are so many unknowns. I think we have a good team and a good plan, but how will it all come together with the coaching change? How does Michigan deal with their coaching change? What's the fallout at Washington from the Demond Williams thing [a foiled attempt to transfer]? USC threw some money around, but how will it work out? There are so many unknowns about everyone everywhere. — SeamusPSU Honestly, I've gotta have that Michigan game. I never viewed them in the same light as Ohio State, but they are part of the narrative. Let's change that this year. To be clear, I'm not calling for torches and pitchforks if we lose, but it would be massive for the brand, I think [if Penn State were to win in Ann Arbor]. — Greg K Washington is the game I'm most concerned about. Matt Campbell hasn't had to travel like that (although Terry Smith has), and the Huskies should be a pretty solid team. I'm going to assume that we lose a random game somewhere in there. Hopefully not to Maryland. — Gittany This is an oversimplification, but PSU has a four-game season — at Northwestern, USC, at Michi- gan, at Washington. If we go 2-2, we will likely be in the playoff regardless of strength of schedule. Could we lose to Wisconsin or Minnesota at home? Sure. If we do, it likely means a four- or five-loss season, as it would be an indication we are not very good, much as last season's loss to Northwest- ern was such an indicator. I am also being charitable in putting Northwestern in the group of games that are potential losses. The talent disparity will be massive. That said, on any given day. A few years ago, Marshall went into South Bend and beat Notre Dame. There are no automatic W's. — Ceasar We have a stretch of four very tough games. I'm not one who believes we have an easy schedule, even without Ohio State. — Sunshine88! I do not agree with the idea that our schedule is easy at all. USC, at Washington, at Michigan? That's not easy. I do agree there are a lot of unknowns. That includes the Nits. This should surely be an interesting season. — JoePano19 ON PENN STATE'S EFFORTS TO KEEP PACE IN THE NIL ECONOMY … Has Penn State football ever been at the very top echelon in terms of resources? It seems like there is this mass panic from the fan base, when really, we are right where we've always been. And frankly, we are in a good spot. I think a lot of this narrative will die down as we move further away from the James Franklin era and the nonstop excuses as to why we couldn't ever win a game against a team with equal or greater talent. — PSUJD Penn State will keep pace with its current status, consistently between 10th and 20th place in terms of funding. There aren't the natural resources or alumni/business funding to push PSU out of its current bracket. — Lionspride22 Most high-net-worth folks in the Northeast/Pennsylvania would rather be at the U.S. Open in Flushing than at a college football game. The alumni base, while successful, is not as entrepreneurial as some others. They don't have the massive personal assets to support annual funding at a seven- plus-digit level. It doesn't mean we can't be successful, but it is a limiting factor. — Stephen Light While I respect the skills of today's athletes, I myself will not contribute to NIL funds. What others do with their money is their business. I have a hard time justifying these large sums with all the charities that can use them for the greater good. Sports in this country have gone crazy compared to where they were 50 years ago. It's not for fun anymore, even at the younger ages. I will root for the team in their pursuit of a natty but will not be disappointed if they don't achieve it. I will be proud of a team that sticks together and plays hard. — SW Fla Lion We unironically need an alum who likes football to strike gold and become a billionaire. That's what it takes. — Taycro Fine. I'll do it. — PaulPosluvzme 4 J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 2 6