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.
Charlottesville, Virginia, home of the University of Virginia Cavaliers, is an easy four and a half hour drive from State College. Despite the loss, the atmosphere was enjoyable and hospitable -- which could prove to be a rarity for traveling Penn State fans in the near future. Here's what I took away from my trip to beautiful Scott Stadium.
During the darkest time in school history, with every move we make scrutinized by the national media you'd think Penn State fans would show a little class when a player under performs on the field. Wrong. Some irrational fans felt the need to belittle kicker Sam Ficken, following his tough game against Virginia.
There are a lot of dumb people in the world, and a lot of these dumb people have Twitter accounts. Penn State kicker Sam Ficken struggled mightily on Saturday, missing four field goals. Some people took to Twitter to act like idiots and voice their displeasure with Ficken's performance. We compiled some of these gems.