The Penn State Nittany Lions have played several hundred home football games at Beaver Stadium. They are used to that part of the equation. What this current team is not used to is having two straight losses to start the season, and their opponent on Saturday. The last time the Nittany Lions (0-2) faced the Navy Midshipmen (0-1), Gerald Ford was president. It has been a long time--almost forty years-- since the teams met, but if the result is similar to the September 21, 1974 game, things are going to get really ugly in Happy Valley.
Devin Pryor never planned to walk on at Penn State. However, consistent pressure from friends and coaches eventually swayed Pryor. More on the European football player's interesting journey to Penn State after the jump.
Staff predictions return for Week 3 as various Onward State writers offer their thoughts on tomorrow's game at Beaver Stadium in which the Penn State Nittany Lions (0-2) face the Navy Midshipmen (0-1). Let's get right to the picks.
The Penn State Nittany Lions need to focus on winning a football game, but for two players, the contest against Navy is extra special. P.J. Byers and Brent Smith are not your typical college football players. Start with their age. Most guys are not playing at age 26 and 27 respectively. That's not what makes them different though. Their background and military experience before they arrived at Penn State does.
One glimmer of light in what has been a rather dark two weeks for the Penn State Football program has come in the mold of Allen Robinson, a 6-3 205 lb. sophomore wide receiver from Orchard Lake, Michigan. He currently ranks fourth in the country with nineteen receptions and twenty first in yards over the first two weeks with 186. These statistics are good enough to put Robinson at the top when it comes to Big Ten receivers. Robinson has certainly evolved from the three star recruit who only received scholarship offers from Buffalo, Minnesota, and Toledo in addition to the Nittany Lions.
When the NCAA hit the Penn State Football program with sanctions on July 23rd and allowed players to transfer without penalty, nine decided to leave. Below is an update regarding how these guys have performed at their new schools through the first two weeks of the college football season.