The late, lovely Joe Tiller, who brought wide-open football to Purdue and the Big Ten, also brought the same lament every year to Big Ten football media days. "Yesterday, I was fishing in Wyoming," Tiller would say, "and now I'm here."
And now we're here again. After the Big 12 and SEC had their turns, this week belongs to the Big Ten and ACC. As the conference expands to 18 teams, so do Big Ten football media days, which will pay three days of rent at Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis. The show begins Tuesday. Penn State appears Wednesday. Set your alarms.
Meanwhile, the deluge of preseason coverage already began. We've been contributing for weeks at Penn State on SI, so this week's edition of Penn State Headlines covers what you might have missed at the beach.
How does college football view Penn State?
The consensus regarding James Franklin's team seems to be a mixture of playoff expectations with, "What then?" Penn State is a consistent top-12 team in preseason glances. Actually, ESPN's College Football Power Index, which has had a crush on Penn State for more than a year, ranks the team sixth. One ESPN writer called Penn State playoff "sleeper," while analyst Greg McIlroy is keen on the additions of coordinators Andy Kotelnicki and Tom Allen. And Pro Football Focus has said that the Nittany Lions are "under pressure" this season.
Is there a concern? Offensive tackle, according to ESPN. We'd cite wide receiver, and position coach Marques Hagans said his players are deploying that doubt as a motivational tool.
Elsewhere, Penn State will log some flight miles, though not nearly as many as the Big Ten rookies, this season, and Drew Allar and Nicholas Singleton are drawing national praise.
Finally, a date for the Penn State White Out
After exhausting every possibility, Penn State finally announced a date for this season's White Out game. The Washington Huskies not only have to fly about 4,500 miles round trip for their first game at Beaver Stadium but also get to attend a White Out. Congratulations! Kickoff for the Nov. 9 game is TBA, but expect a 3:30 p.m. ET start, since NBC already has scheduled Florida State-Notre Dame for its Saturday-night broadcast.
The date was a fair compromise. Washington is a strong brand and brings a fresh name to the White Out. And Penn State did something sneaky anyway, scheduling its "Helmet Stripe" game for the previous week against Ohio State. So Penn State basically is conducting consecutive White Out games, the first likely a noon start with a strip of blue in the stadium.
Penn State in the Olympics
The Olympics begin this week in Paris, and Penn State will represent Team USA and beyond. Penn State actually leads the Big Ten in Team USA athletes (until USC and UCLA join the conference officially) with 14. The list includes shot-putter Joe Kovacs, a two-time Olympic silver-medalist, USWNT goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher and wrestler Aaron Brooks.
Another great story is field hockey player Phia Gladeaux, the only current Penn State athlete competing for Team USA. Rich Scarcella of the Reading Eagle chronicled her inspirational Olympic journey.
Hot Reads
Penn State basketball is more than halfway through its summer workout program, and point guard Ace Baldwin Jr. looks better than ever.
Seth Engle takes a look at Penn State's 2024 schedule and the elusive playoff berth.
A Penn State alum has donated $250,000 to help renovate the Greenberg Indoor Sports Complex
Could Penn State bring in a two-sport star in 2026? Kendre Harrison, a football and basketball standout from North Carolina, released a top-6 recruiting list that includes the Nittany Lions.
Mike Poorman of Statecollege.com compiled an update on preseason work at Beaver Stadium,
which includes expanded gates and new ribbon boards.
Also from Statecollege.com: Trustee Barry Fenchak, a vocal critic of Penn State's spending habits who voted against the Beaver Stadium renovation plan, has sued the Board of Trustees for withholding records.
Happy Valley United, Penn State's official NIL collective, is hosting a major fundraising meet-and-greet this week in New Jersey. Franklin will headline with current and former players.
A Lego Beaver Stadium is coming to Penn State's All-Sports Museum this month.
AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on X (or Twitter) @MarkWogenrich.
