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Penn State Football Referenced In New Episode Of ‘This Is Us’

Penn State football is back on TV, folks. Although this time, instead of tearing it up in Beaver Stadium, it’s being named-dropped on the latest episode of NBC’s hit drama, “This Is Us.”

For those unfamiliar with the show and its current season, it follows three siblings and their lives in the past as children and the present as adults. This week’s Penn State reference was found in a storyline in the past that focused on the relationship between characters Kevin Pearson, one of the siblings, and his father, Jack Pearson.

13-year-old Kevin played quarterback and was invited to a football camp somewhere in Allegheny County. The Pearson family lives in Pittsburgh, so it’s certainly not that far of a drive. The crown jewel of the trip? The camp was run by two Penn State quarterbacks.

The year is 1993 in this timeline, so Joe Paterno was still the Nittany Lions’ head coach. Kerry Collins was the starting quarterback at the time, and his backup was John Sacca. Unfortunately for Penn State fans, the characters in the show were not modeled after the real-life stars.

Throughout the show, characters are seen wearing plenty of Penn State gear. Thanks to the university’s timeless style, you’d probably recognize some gear they wore.

Additionally, Jack makes a couple of references to Kevin becoming the next star quarterback at Penn State, but that, unfortunately, puts a lot of pressure on young Kevin to succeed. This leads to a heart-to-heart, but we don’t get to see how he does at the camp. Maybe we’ll find out in the next episode!

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About the Author

Owen Abbey

Owen Abbey was a Secondary Education major before he graduated from the wonderful institution known as Penn State. When he was not writing for the blog, he enjoyed rooting for the Baltimore Orioles and Ravens, supporting Penn State basketball and softball, dreaming of all of the ways he would win the TV show "Survivor," and yes mom, actually doing school work. All of this work prepared him to teach his own class of students, which was always his true passion. He still can be found on Twitter @theowenabbey and can be reached for questions and comments at [email protected]

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