Lebanon, Tennessee – After last week’s second loss by Penn State (3-2, 0-2) to a second consecutive Big Ten opponent, the naysayers came out in droves. No one in Happy Valley saw this coming. Maybe the players, like the fans, focused a little too much to this next perceived challenge. USC (5-1, 2-1) currently ranked No. 19 in the AP poll, loomed as the biggest game on this year’s “weak schedule” (OK, at Michigan, too).
That’s definitely what James Franklin left behind so the Nittany Lions started 3-0 with no challenges prior to Big Ten play (check out Virginia Tech’s slate this year; perfect for Franklin’s start and watch the rest of his season). Then, a last-minute loss to Wisconsin and a 31-13 thrashing by improving Northwestern sent the Blue and White Faithful into a quandary. Anyone notice that Northwestern gave No. 7 Indiana (5-0, 2-0) and big scare falling, 29-23, the week before?
Penn State prescription for the future
Even my PSU connection of over 40 years, John Massimiila, critiqued everything from play-calling, to offensive line weaknesses, to QB Rocco Becht, to poor use of rushing personnel, etc. I trust John’s judgment as we’ve agreed much over the years about the Lions. One thing that I believe hurts PSU whole-heartedly is the non- conference, cupcake schedules Franklin insisted on.
These conjure a false sense of confidence suddenly stepping up into tougher conference play. Even a few years ago they had home-and-home with series with Auburn, West Virginia and Pitt. I believe a long-term series with the latter would be beneficial having a traditional rivalry to kick emotions into gear earlier rather than later. Hopefully, HC Matt Campbell will move things in that direction.
Right place, right time, right circumstances
I see USC coming to town for the traditional Penn State “white-out” as the right concoction to turn these Nittany Lions around as long as the fans haven’t given up already. Despite the supposed lack of interest due to the 3-2 record, hopefully Happy Valley is going to rise up and be its old-self. This has to be the time. Even for Matt Campbell and his many former ISU Cyclones on hand, this atmosphere will charge them up. I think it’s what these new Nittany Lions need. They’re still cubs. This evening shows them what Penn State football is supposed to be all about. Now maybe they will understand.
Riley under fire too, but understandable
Then, there’s this perception of USC. Riley gets too much credit. From this fan of almost 750 games: opinion. HC Lincoln Riley, even at Oklahoma, never had the great defenses. That comes from us attending three Oklahoma CFP games when each Sooner team fielded a Heisman-winning QBs (Mayfield, Murray, and Hurts). During our history, each of these teams got absolutely destroyed by Clemson, Alabama and LSU. Riley supposedly recruited the best class of freshman in 2026, but what has that proven thus far? How well and how quickly does he develop new defensive players? Not only did they lose to Oregon last week at home, 41-27, they allowed 1-4 Rutgers to put up 35 points in their one-touchdown win in Piscataway.
Against three other FBS programs, RU scored only 19 points per game with losses to UMASS and struggling Boston College. Of course, the hiring of former TCU HC and defensive “guru” Gary Patterson should improve the D for USC, but Brent Venables filled that same role at Oklahoma for Riley as a defensive “mastermind.” In our game experiences, we didn’t come away with that impression. On Saturday, we doubt that his defense will be improved over the past couple of games.
USC QB Jayden Maiava ranks second in FBS passing yards
Last season, Maiava finished fifth nationally is passing yards with 3,711 and a QB ranking of 89.9, second best in the country. Currently after six games, his stats impress: 1,744 yards, 15 TDs, 3 INTs and a 68.6 % completion rate. Looking over his early season stats, he has outstanding numbers. However, if you look at his progression since the start of the season, numbers have declined since the fourth win: 505 yards vs San Jose State, 92% completion success against Fresno, five TDs against Louisiana – all in the Group of Six (again my argument to split the FBS). Then, 42 points scored against 1-4 Rutgers. Since then, a 41-27 loss to Oregon and 25 points in a 25-21 win over Washington.
In the last two Big Ten USC games, his stats fell: 57.8% completions, only three of his 15 TDs came, two INTs vs just one in the first five. That’s the problem with early season college football. You can’t judge a team’s worthiness until they meet up with competition at a comparable level. The games are now about “padding” the numbers for future bowl considerations. That starts financially followed now talent-wise by who has the most money to offer players. Remember the old saying, “Pick on somebody your own size?” That’s totally the opposite of how college football now develops its non-conference schedules. Like USC’s last two games, Penn State will have more to throw Maiava as opposed to his first four opponents.
ISU Campbell vs. OU Riley
In five meetings between these two while at Iowa State and Oklahoma, Campbell’s record was 2-3 against a top ranked Big XII contender. His three losses came by ten, one and seven points. The Cyclones scored anywhere between 21-41 points. Campbell has the experience of going toe-to-toe with Riley. If the Penn State “White out “crowd at Beaver Stadium gets into a frenzy for this one, as it usually does, the Nittany Lions could carry this one away and turn things around for the balance of the season.
Future home games feature Purdue, Minnesota and Rutgers. What better time and opponent to have in Happy Valley this weekend? The adrenalins should be pumping as this will be a great atmosphere to host many of the newer Nittany Lions who have not yet experienced this unique opportunity to find out what a Penn State “White-out” is all about. Lions by a touchdown. No let-up here. No James Franklin either.
Midseason notes about teams in our first eight games this season
Florida State (3-2, 1-1) – My jaw dropped when I saw they beat Virginia last week, 38-7. They play at Louisville this Friday night. We saw the Cardinals give Ole Miss a good game falling, 41-38, in the Music City classic. I’m rooting for HC Mike Norvell to leap off the hot seat! He went 13-0 in 2023 before losing his QB Jordan Travis. Then got abandoned by all his players in the start of the transfer portal when they were denied a CFP bid. He’s rebuilding from nothing and now the Seminoles may see better results sooner than expected.
No. 9 Ole Miss back in action
No. 9 Ole Miss (3-1, 1-1) comes off a bye after a beatdown by now No. 16 Florida under new HC Jon Sumrall. He’s a proven winner who will do big things in Gainesville. The Rebels come to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt (3-2, 0-2) who should be 2-3 after that last second NC State debacle. VU Frosh QB Jared Curtis isn’t ready to carry the entire load yet. He’ll be sharing more playing time with Blaze Berlowitz in the near future. Still in a learning curve. Ole Miss with QB Trinidad Chambliss should be rested coming back to this game in the Music City once again. Even better for Ole Miss, lead rusher Kewan Lacy should be back in action.
Our BIG Question regarding Miami
No. 4 Miami (5-0, 2-2) looks dominant. However, the one thing that they have not establish yet is QB Darian Mensah’s ability to throw along ball. Granted he is accurate, but what we saw against Wake Forest in their 33-20 win opened our eyes. He’s very reliant and the amazing WR Malachi Toney and Cooper Barkate to pick up big yards after catches. Most often though, these come on short out-patterns where his receivers avoid and break tackles for big yards.
In the second half against Wake leading 31-7, HC Luke Dickert’s defense shut this down. If not for some very costly penalties and one very bac non-interference call against the Demon Deacon offense in the second half, this game could have gone the other way. When Miami does get challenged in the future by say, Notre Dame, will Mensah have the arm and accuracy to throw the long ball that maybe necessary. He may not be tested until then.
Look out for Wake Forest?
No, we’re not kidding. Since the loss to Miami, the Deacs defeated a favored Louisville team, 30-27, on the road. Last week like Miami, they pummeled Stanford, 57-3. The reconnections between QB Gio Lopez and OC Bob Ezwell since their departure from South Alabama has worked well at Wake Forest (4-1, 2-1). Their defense demonstrated their capability to step up against No. 5 Miami. Their biggest challenge ahead looks to be at No. 24 SMU on November 14. Watch out for the Deacs, they could be Miami’s opponent for the ACC Championship game in Charlotte this year.
Nebraska on the rise?
Nebraska (5-0, 2-0) a week after our visit to see them defeat Maryland, 48-23, hosts No. 7 Indiana. As mentioned previously, Northwestern threw a scare into the Hoosiers falling 29-23. We’re keeping an eye on this 12-noon EST kickoff.
Read more fun history of many games attended our first 42 Seasons!
If you haven’t already, please click on the title about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Ugly on Amazon.com. Among 746 college games attended to date now, we’ve seen all 136 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams play in person. In 2026, in case you aren’t aware, North Dakota State and Sacramento State join the FBS this season. “Fifty Years” tells our story of how we got to attend our first 652 games!
Read the reviews on the book page and order your copy today. If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023. Hopefully, you’ll understand how much we love this sport and what we propose for it to survive successfully. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales.
Capture some memories
Please buy your copy today and read about the many great memories captured. Maybe some will bring back some of the same memories you encountered when we did. And to us this isn’t a job. It’s our lifelong adventure!
