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Black Shoe Diaries

https://www.blackshoediaries.com/ | 320 entries published

DOMINATE THE STATE

Latest Entries

The 9 College Football Games to Watch During Rivalry Week

Please forgive me for some of the brief game summaries below, but I have good reason. For one, it will save you from reading “it’s a game where you can throw the records out” over and over again. Secondly, I’m writing this post-Thanksgiving meal while digesting an outrageous amount of food.   FRIDAY (#7)Ole Miss at […]

13 days ago | 0 reads

BSD Staff Predictions Roundtable: Rutgers

The Lions take the gridiron for their final regular season game on the road against Rutgers, both teams needing a win for bowl eligibility. How does the staff see this one playing out? Chris Penn State is a team resurgent following wins against Michigan State and Nebraska. After 6 straight losses in the middle of […]

14 days ago | 1 read

Penn State vs. Rutgers: Game Preview

Penn State tries to close out the regular season with a three-game winning streak as both teams fight for bowl eligibility. Penn State (5-6, 2-6) vs. Rutgers (5-6, 2-6) Kickoff: 3:30 p.m., SHI Stadium, Piscataway, NJ The Betting Line: Penn State -10.5 TV: BTN, 3:30 p.m., Jeff Levering (play-by-play), Jake Butt (analyst), Brooke Fletcher (sideline) Weather: A cool but […]

14 days ago | 0 reads

Hockey Film Room: Power Play Tweaks

While football takes the spotlight on Thanksgiving Day, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is one of the biggest nights of the year for hockey. Having Andouille lentil soup for dinner and watching the Penguins game on Thanksgiving Eve is an annual tradition for my family just as much as the turkey and stuffing. With Thanksgiving Eve […]

15 days ago | 1 read

Snap Counts: Nebraska

46 Penn State players had at least one snap in Saturday’s 37-10 demolition of Nebraska. NOTE: Season totals in parentheses Offense: 51 snaps (704) Quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer: 51 (339) Running Backs Kaytron Allen: 40 (395)Nicholas Singleton: 19 (334) Wide Receivers Devonte Ross: 32 (334)Trebor Peña: 31 (457)Kyron Hudson: 28 (493)Koby Howard: 17 (104)Liam Clifford: 4 […]

15 days ago | 1 read

Midweek Musings – Gone So Fast

We as fans hang around for the vast majority of any calendar year without football to watch. We discuss coaching changes, facility upgrades, recruiting wins and losses, transfers, what qualifies as a sandwich, and so on, for 40 weeks out of the year. And it’s all enjoyable, but for many of us it’s just filler, […]

15 days ago | 0 reads

Just the Stats: Penn State vs Rutgers

Penn St. Nittany Lions (5-6; 2-6 Big Ten) vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights (5-6; 2-6 Big Ten) 3:30 p.m. ET, November 29—BTN SHI Stadium (Capacity: 52,454 / Piscataway, NJ) Tableizer using codebeautify.org Penn State Value (Nat’l Rank) Value (Nat’l Rank) Rutgers Advantage Rushing Offense (ypg) 166.4 (63) 201.7 (127) Rushing Defense (ypg) Passing Offense (ypg) 179.1 […]

15 days ago | 0 reads

Bowl Projections 2025: Week 13

Welcome back to our weekly series tracking some of the bowl/CFP picks for Penn State football following each game, This season, we will follow ESPN, Yahoo, College Football News, and CBS Sports, with occasional bonus picks from other publications. Yahoo Sports/College Football News: Bowl/CFP Seed: Pinstripe Bowl Location: New York, NY Date: December 27th, 2025 […]

15 days ago | 0 reads

Penn State 96, Boston University 87: Defense Is Optional

While both Penn State and Boston University got off to a bit of a sleepy start, it was only a matter of time before the Nittany Lions imposed their will on the Terriers. It was a first-half offensive onslaught for Penn State as nine players scored and six scored multiple times. It was Josh Reed, […]

16 days ago | 1 read

YAY HOOPS: Penn State vs. Boston University Open Thread

Coming up at 7:00 PM EST exclusively on Peacock, the Nittany Lions and the Terriers will wage battle at the Bryce Jordan Center. If you haven’t seen Eli’s preview, then you may want to check that out. Otherwise, comment away below to your heart’s desire. Just make sure you don’t post anything illegal, pornographic, or […]

16 days ago | 1 read

Penn State vs Boston University Preview: Lions Back Home

The last time we saw the Nittany Lions, they played a competitive game with Providence for about 30 minutes, then, after coming back from a 12-point deficit to make it a three point game, a pair of threes by the Friars opened it back up, and that was all she wrote. Now, the Lions look […]

16 days ago | 0 reads

This Week in Happy Valley: Decisions, Decisions

Terry Smith on advocating himself to be Penn State’s next coach. Kaytron Allen was named Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week. Drew Allar is on schedule with his recovery and is looking ahead to the NFL Draft. PFF named Penn State as its Offensive Line of the Week for its performance against Nebraska. The […]

16 days ago | 1 read

Blessed & Honored: Jackson Ford Visits Penn State

Kevin Brown Flips to West Virginia Four-star offensive lineman Kevin Brown flipped to West Virginia last week: Brown’s dad was an offensive lineman at West Virginia, so this flip is hardly a surprise. Penn State’s 2026 class is now down to 10 total players, ranking No. 81 in the country. Elijah Littlejohn Commits to Georgia […]

16 days ago | 0 reads

Nittany Lions in the NFL 2025: Week 12

Here’s a list of the current Nittany Lions in the NFL listed by 53-man roster: *Just a reminder that again this season, I will not include players like Juwan Johnson and KeAndre Lambert-Smith that did not finish their college career at Penn State* Arizona Cardinals: Blake Gillikin, PJ Mustipher Atlanta Falcons: Arnold Ebiketie Baltimore Ravens: […]

16 days ago | 1 read

BSD MVP Nebraska: Kaytron Allen

It’s become a weekly ritual – write about how Kaytron Allen performed well on the previous Saturday. Allen isn’t just being honored by us here at BSD following his two-touchdown performance against Nebraska a couple of days back. He was also named the Big Ten Offensive Co-Player of the Week. More than that, Allen put […]

17 days ago | 0 reads

Mondays with Terry: Rutgers Week

Terry Smith met with the media on Monday, his first press conference since his team’s impressive win against Nebraska on Saturday and his pitch to be the full-time head coach at Penn State. You can read the full transcript HERE or check out the highlights. Opening Statement Terry opened with a recap of the Nebraska […]

17 days ago | 1 read

Big Ten Power Rankings – Week 13

Hello there and welcome to the Big Ten Power Rankings! Each week we’ll rank how the teams across the conference are playing, in the hopes of seeing just who is a contender, and who is a pretender over the course of the season. The rules are few, but resolute: Teams are ranked by how they’re […]

17 days ago | 0 reads

Postview: Nittany Lions Win Nine Titles, dominate Black Knight Invitational

For these dynastic Nittany Lion grapplers, the Black Knight Invitational (or any early season tourney) isn’t specifically about flexing the heights of their powers; that comes in the B1G dual season and especially in March. Instead, per Cael Sanderson, it’s a growth opportunity: We just want them to get matches in and compete. We want […]

17 days ago | 0 reads

MMQB – Record Book

Penn State defeated Nebraska 37-10 this past weekend, and inched one step closer to bowl eligibility. The big story, however, was the record-setting running back duo of Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton. Over the last few weeks we’ve been keeping an eye as they’ve crept closer and closer to the top of the record books, […]

18 days ago | 1 read

Position Grades: Nebraska

Suffice it to say, this is the most fun I’ve had all season long putting together these grades. Last night’s game felt like a whole season’s worth of frustrations being taken out on Nebraska, but will it be enough to earn a Straight-A report card?? Let’s find out! Quarterback: A Ethan Grunkemeyer completed all but […]

18 days ago | 0 reads

Social Media Reactions to Penn State vs. Nebraska

A win! For Penn State! At home! Against a power four team! In blowout fashion! It took until the end of November, but we finally got here. During and following the game, Nittany Lions’ fans and lettermen alike were saying the elephant in the room out loud. What if we just hired Terry? Some fans […]

18 days ago | 0 reads