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Black Shoe Diaries

https://www.blackshoediaries.com/ | 310 entries published

DOMINATE THE STATE

Latest Entries

Penn State vs. Indiana Preview: Big Ten Action is Back

What to Watch For Prediction This feels like the perfect get-right game for a slightly reeling Hoosiers team, and the 15-point spread feels just about accurate. Still, I’m interested to see how some of Penn State’s younger and less experienced players perform in a true hostile environment. But I’m expecting Mike Rhoades’ squad to get […]

about 4 hours ago | 0 reads

Report: Ty Howle Hired as Offensive Coordinator at Virginia Tech

Penn State football’s Ty Howle is reportedly following James Franklin to Virginia Tech and receiving a big promotion in return. Howle, who has served as the Nittany Lions’ tight ends coach since 2021 and co-offensive coordinator since 2023, will now be the Hokies’ offensive coordinator, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. He is also expected to […]

about 6 hours ago | 0 reads

This Week In Happy Valley: A New Era Begins

The Campbell family gets their first look at Beaver Stadium. Matt Campbell cites Cael Sanderson as he made the tough decision to leave Iowa State for Penn State. Zane Durant has opted out of the Pinstripe Bowl. Penn State hockey prepares for tough second half during long break. Gavin McKenna and Jackson Smith were named […]

NFL

about 7 hours ago | 0 reads

Blessed & Honored: Bouncing Back

Penn State In the Mix for Elite QB 2027 four-star quarterback Israel Abrams is now on Penn State’s radar following Matt Campbell’s hiring: Abrams is the No. 3 quarterback in the 2027 class as of today. The most recent projections had Abrams heading to Iowa State, but with Matt Campbell now at Penn State, the […]

about 8 hours ago | 0 reads

Nittany Lions in the NFL 2025: Week 14

Here’s a list of the current Nittany Lions in the NFL listed by 53-man roster: *Just a reminder that again this season, I will not include players like Juwan Johnson and KeAndre Lambert-Smith that did not finish their college career at Penn State* Arizona Cardinals: Blake Gillikin, PJ Mustipher Atlanta Falcons: Arnold Ebiketie Baltimore Ravens: […]

about 11 hours ago | 0 reads

BSD YouTube Show: Recapping Matt Campbell’s Press Conference

The Matt Campbell era is upon us in Happy Valley! We discuss Campbell’s opening presser on Monday afternoon, and look ahead to what comes next the following days and weeks. We’ll be live at 7 p.m. EST. We’ll get the audio from the show onto Apple and Spotify as well for tomorrow.

about 23 hours ago | 0 reads

Mondays with Matt: Welcome!

Matt Campbell met the State College media for the first time on Monday afternoon. We will work on a better name and see what words stand out the most over the coming years. But, as always, you can read the full transcript with Campbell, AD Pat Kraft, and university president Neeli Bendapudi HERE. Or, read […]

1 day ago | 0 reads

Penn State a Slight Underdog Against Clemson in Pinstripe Bowl

Penn State will head into the Pinstripe Bowl as a slight underdog against Clemson, according to FanDuel. The Tigers are a 2.5-point favorite over the Nittany Lions when the teams meet in New York on December 27. It took Penn State until the last week to get their sixth win and gain bowl eligibility. Following […]

1 day ago | 0 reads

BSD Roundtable: Grading The Matt Campbell Hire

Well, that was one hell of a coaching search, wasn’t it? After 54 days, Penn State finally secured its new head football coach, signing former Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell to an eight-year deal. I think all of our thoughts about the hire are different before the Sitake Debacle and after the Sitake Debacle, […]

1 day ago | 0 reads

Possible Iowa State-to-Penn State Assistant Coaching Moves

Penn State will formally introduce new head coach Matt Campbell later today, and while there is plenty to celebrate, hiring Campbell was just the first step in what will be a supremely busy offseason for the Nittany Lions. Next on the docket for Campbell and his Penn State program: who will be on the coaching […]

NFL

1 day ago | 0 reads

MMQB – Let’s Go Bowling

With the conference championships being played over the weekend, and the playoff bracket being set, the rest of the bowl games were allotted over the weekend. Turns out Penn State is headed to the Pinstripe Bowl, and will face Clemson as its opponent! Given how things looked in early November, I have to feel like […]

NFL

1 day ago | 0 reads

Paying It Forward

After the announcement that Kalani Sitake would be staying at BYU, a number of their fans flocked to the internet and donated funds to the State College food bank in a “trolling” effort to remind the Penn State faithful they won in the end. This is the kind of playful bragging that actually make the […]

2 days ago | 0 reads

Penn State Headed To Pinstripe Bowl, Will Play Clemson

Sunday, December 7 Update: Brett McMurphy confirms it’ll be Clemson. The Nittany Lions will officially find out tomorrow where they are headed for bowl season, but according to a report from On3’s Brett McMurphy, Penn State will take on an ACC opponent in the Pinstripe Bowl. The Pinstripe Bowl is set for Saturday, December 27 […]

3 days ago | 0 reads

Wrestling Preview: #1 Penn State vs #14 Lehigh

Lehigh is, most often, the second best squad in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and this year is no different, despite losing a number of multi-year starters (and ranked wrestlers) to graduation and former #1 Ryan Crookham to continued rehabbing of last year’s injury. The Mountain Hawks gained a key assistant coach in two-time NCAA champ […]

3 days ago | 0 reads

Conference Championships Open Thread

It’s Championship Saturday! Hang out with us while we watch all of the conference champions be crowned, and see how each game impacts the College Football Playoff! On the docket we have: Let’s see how it all shakes out!

3 days ago | 0 reads

Wrestling Postview: #1 Penn State 43, Drexel 3

Penn State dominates in Philadelphia for the second time in 2025. Penn State traveled to Philadelphia on Friday night to take on the Drexel Dragons. The Nittany Lions returned to the City of Brotherly Love nine months after setting the NCAA tournament scoring record back in March. The Drexel Dragons were heavily outmatched, but anything […]

4 days ago | 0 reads

Breaking: Penn State Hires Iowa State’s Matt Campbell

Update: It’s official! After initial reports surfaced that Penn State switched the focus of its search on Iowa State’s Matt Campbell, things have moved quickly. The Nittany Lions are now set to finalize a deal to make Campbell the next Nittany Lions head coach, after spending the last 10 season leading the Cyclones. As previously […]

4 days ago | 0 reads

The 6 Games to Watch During Conference Championship Weekend

FRIDAY Kennesaw State at Jacksonville State Conference USA Championship7 p.m., CBSSN Kennesaw State was predicted to be among the very worst teams in all of college football heading into the season. Flash forward to December, and they’re playing for a conference championship. This game may not mean anything in the playoff picture, but would mean […]

4 days ago | 0 reads

Wrestling Preview: No. 1 Penn State vs Drexel

(Ed. note: Due to technical issues, Bubba is posting this on behalf of Cari. Any copy/paste or formatting issues are his fault.) Last season, the Nittany Lions kicked off their 2024-2025 campaign with a home dual against the Drexel Dragons, facing the in-state squad for the first time in over twenty years. This season, Penn […]

4 days ago | 0 reads

Penn State Reportedly Focusing on Matt Campbell

After striking out on their top candidate, and a few others along the way, the Nittany Lions are reportedly facing on Matt Campbell as their next head coach. Campbell has done wonders for the Iowa State program, most recently giving the Cyclones their first 11-win season in program history. Campbell is well respected amongst the […]

5 days ago | 0 reads

(Early) NCAA Hockey Playoff Picture: December 4

There are still 30 more days until Penn State hockey resumes its season and over three months until the NCAA Tournament field is selected in late March, but it is never too early to crunch some college hockey bracketology. The tournament is still the normal 16-team format, but the Pairwise ranking system has been phased […]

5 days ago | 0 reads