We’re back for another week of coaching news and notes. Other than Matt Rhule, no notable coaches signed extensions and then lost another ranked game and just about everyone remains in play as Pat Kraft tosses out his wide net. We’ll discuss two new names this week, but as I say every week: be patient. […]
4 months ago | 1 read
Even though Penn State’s season has gone off the rails compared to preseason expectations, the show must go on – and this year, there’s a lot to double take at in college football. Some things, though, remain the same; last year’s national champ, Ohio State, is unsurprisingly #1 in the first rankings. This week’s PSU […]
4 months ago | 4 reads
Aiden Fink will be out for the foreseeable future, per head coach Guy Gadowsky. How Penn State hockey will adjust to life without Aiden Fink. Penn State hockey’s series against Michigan State is officially a Top-3 showdown. Penn State women’s hockey remains undefeated after posting consecutive shutouts. The women’s volleyball team is barely in the […]
4 months ago | 3 reads
Texas Keeps Surviving It seemed safe to write off the ‘Horns after two early losses and an offense that couldn’t get off the ground. However, Texas kept finding ways to win while the offense has started to wake up. October saw them pull off a big upset of rival Oklahoma, survive overtime scares from Kentucky […]
4 months ago | 10 reads
Kevin Brown Visits Ohio State 2026 Penn State commit Kevin Brown was in attendance for the Nittany Lions’ 38-14 loss to Ohio State on Saturday: As of today, Brown is the highest-rated commit in Penn State’s 2026 class, but a flip feels increasingly inevitable as Penn State continues its coaching search. This would be a […]
4 months ago | 6 reads
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: […]
4 months ago | 8 reads
As a former Penn State basketball coach would say, Penn State’s season-opening win over Fairfield was “gritty, not pretty.” For most of the night, the Nittany Lions flirted with disaster against a 15-point underdog Stags team, but put together a run when they absolutely had to late in the game in order to secure the […]
4 months ago | 6 reads
Leave me your questions below!
4 months ago | 2 reads
After a pair of exhibition games, the Nittany Lions officially tip off Year 3 of the Mike Rhoades era against Fairfield. Unfortunately, you are going to need a B1G+ streaming subscription to watch tonight’s contest, which starts at 7:00 PM EST. If you haven’t done so already, check out our preview. As always, the usual […]
4 months ago | 1 read
The Nittany Lions’ 2025-26 season kicks off on Monday! Penn State hopes to improve from an abysmal 2024-25 season, where a team expected to compete for a postseason bid instead finished 17th in the conference. Mike Rhoades lost plenty of talent to graduation, some to the portal, and one to the NBA draft, so this […]
4 months ago | 1 read
Hello there and welcome to the Big Ten Power Rankings! Each week we’ll rank how the teams across the conference are playing, in the hopes of seeing just who is a contender, and who is a pretender over the course of the season. The rules are few, but resolute: Teams are ranked by how they’re […]
4 months ago | 3 reads
Twelve conference teams were in action in six games that pitted B1G on B1G – so what were some of the highlights? Let’s take a deeper look. Best Win of the Week: USC Rallies on the Road Since joining the Big Ten, USC has not done well playing on the road. Last year, there were […]
4 months ago | 1 read
It’s rinse and repeat here at Black Shoe Diaries with our weekly MVP award. Once again, Penn State lost – and once again there weren’t many bright spots outside of Kaytron Allen. Well, until at least Nicholas Singleton showed some of the things that we’ve expected all year long. So, though Penn State lost 38-14 […]
4 months ago | 1 read
I wrote a couple weeks ago about the countdown to Kaytron Allen trying to become the Penn State career rushing leader, and given the relative meh-ness of this season, I think I’m going to keep tabs on it on a weekly basis, or at least until something more fun happens. Against Ohio State, Kaytron had […]
4 months ago | 5 reads
Penn State is still out of the Coaches Poll and the Associated Press ranking and they face the second-ranked team in the country on Saturday. Ohio State remains No. 1 in both polls after defeating the Nittany Lions, with other conference foes Indiana (2nd in both polls) Oregon (6th in both polls), Michigan (20th in […]
4 months ago | 1 read
Well, at least that first half was kinda fun, no? Time to rip off the band-aid, once again… Quarterback: C Considering this was his second career start against yet another ferocious defense, Ethan Grunkemeyer did not allow himself to get rattled and even made some nice throws when he had time in the pocket. Unfortunately, […]
4 months ago | 6 reads
While fan expectations were not high for Penn State’s once-marquee matchup with Ohio State, the Nittany Lions still got their money’s worth in the first half. Nicholas Singleton rounded into form, and Ethan Grunkemeyer helped orchestrate one of the team’s best drives of the season. Suddenly, Penn State was within one score. Still, plenty of […]
4 months ago | 6 reads
Penn State is still searching for an identity after suffering fifth straight loss. Ethan Grunkemeyer navigated a difficult situation against the nation’s best defense in just his second start. The Nittany Lions find themselves in the middle of the storm in a season that continues to unravel. The Buckeyes raced past Penn State in the […]
4 months ago | 1 read
Penn State entered 2025 as the #2 team in the nation. Now, they will host the nation’s #2 team while being unranked following a five-game losing stretch. Indiana has opened as a 13.5-point favorite over the Nittany Lions on Saturday, according to FanDuel. It’s no surprise Penn State is a home underdog, but the spread […]
4 months ago | 1 read
The Nittany Lions continued their spiral into a now-five-game losing streak, likely to be six, when it’s all said and done, on the road against the Ohio State Buckeyes. No one in their right mind thought they had a chance, but, for at least a half, Penn State looked like it was ready to shock […]
4 months ago | 1 read
Jared and I (Tim) will be going live around 3:30 PM EST to talk about yet another loss to the Buckeyes. Tune in, if you feel like it, or something…
4 months ago | 1 read
The Nittany Lions are done for the day, but there’s a lot more football out there! Hang out with us while we watch!
4 months ago | 2 reads
1) Good first half Penn State didn’t roll over, staying with the Buckeyes blow for blow. It looked like it was going to get out of hand early, but Penn State took advantage of a rare Ohio State turnover to turn what could have been a 24-7 hole into a 17-14 halftime score. 2) Bad […]
4 months ago | 7 reads
For 30 minutes, Penn State, thanks to a key turnover and a lot of heart, looked like a team that had a chance at pulling off one of the biggest upsets in program history. But then the second half happened. Ohio State looked the part of the No. 1 team in the country with a […]
4 months ago | 6 reads
Four fingers in the air!
4 months ago | 5 reads