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Black Shoe Diaries

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

DOMINATE THE STATE

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YAY HOOPS: Penn State vs. Harvard Open Thread

Penn State looks to continue its unbeaten start with a win over Harvard at the BJC tonight. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30pm on Big Ten Plus. As always, open thread rules apply. No illegal streams, politics, religion, or NSFW content, and be civil.

22 days ago | 0 reads

Hockey Film Room: Bottom Six Energy

Entering last weekend- and then after the 7-1 demolition Penn State took on Friday night- my concerns about the bottom six went from mild to spicy hot. The Cerrato line has accounted for 23 of Penn State’s 47 goals this season but did not score one in any of the last four games. Their red-hot […]

22 days ago | 0 reads

Snap Counts: Michigan State

42 Penn State players had at least one snap in Saturday’s 28-10 win over Michigan State. It sure was fun rewatching the game film after a win. After two long months without a win, I had nearly forgotten what that felt like. NOTE: Season totals are in parentheses Offense: 63 snaps (653) Quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer: […]

22 days ago | 0 reads

Midweek Musings – 139 & 3

It’s been a few weeks since last we checked in on the Penn State running back dynamic duo and their quest to get to the top of the career leaderboards. Let’s see where we’re at! After a couple of meh games against Ohio State and Indiana (understandably so), Kaytron Allen erupted against Michigan State. On […]

22 days ago | 0 reads

Penn State Football Commits In Action: A Waning Season

And then there were 12. Penn State’s football Class of 2026 is still bleeding prospects, and, surely, James Franklin’s move to Virginia Tech will only accelerate this process. For now, we will re-arrange deck chairs on the Titanic and provide updates on who’s still committed to the Nittany Lions. The top recruit in Penn State’s […]

22 days ago | 0 reads

Just the Stats: Penn State vs Nebraska

Penn St. Nittany Lions (4-6; 1-6 Big Ten) vs Nebraska Cornhusker (7-3; 4-3 Big Ten) 7 p.m. ET, November 22—Peacock Beaver Stadium (Capacity: 106,572 / University Park, PA) Tableizer using codebeautify.org Penn State Value (Nat’l Rank) Value (Nat’l Rank) Nebraska Advantage Rushing Offense (ypg) 159.9 (T – 64) 161.1 (91) Rushing Defense (ypg) Passing Offense […]

22 days ago | 1 read

Penn State vs. Harvard Preview: Last Tune-Up Before Providence

How To Watch Who: Harvard CrimsonRecord: 4-1When: Wednesday, November 19, 6:30 p.m. ESTWhere: Bryce Jordan Center, University Park, PAKenpom Ranking (PSU): 172nd (82nd)TV: B1G+ (Streaming)Radio: Penn State Sports NetworkVegas Line: N/AOver/Under: N/A What To Watch For Prediction Penn State is still a team rounding into form, but have looked pretty decent after a very shaky season opener against Fairfield. Harvard is a school that […]

22 days ago | 1 read

Bowl Projections 2025: Week 12

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 […]

22 days ago | 0 reads

Latest College Football Playoff Rankings Released

After a week twelve that saw some scares and one top ten upset, the newest college football playoff rankings have been released. Prior Penn State opponents Ohio State and Indiana are still in the top three, at numbers one and two; after being down big at the half against unranked South Carolina (and after many […]

23 days ago | 0 reads

Wrestling Media Availability with Cael Sanderson, Luke Lilledahl, & Shayne Van Ness

This afternoon, Head Coach Cael Sanderson, 125lb starter Luke Lilledahl, and 149lb starter Shayne Van Ness spoke to media ahead of the Black Knight Invitational, to be held in West Point New York on Sunday, November 23. Note: Begrudgingly, I’m playing with the ever increasing capabilities of Large Language Models (“AI”) to make transcriptions nice […]

23 days ago | 1 read

Penn State Football Head Coaching Search: News & Notes (11.18.25)

We have lots to catch up on from the last time we took a lay of the land regarding Penn State’s coaching search. While we’re hitting the homestretch in some sense — Penn State will *likely* hire a head coach during the first week-ish of December — things are still up in the air publicly […]

23 days ago | 0 reads

Blessed & Honored: Three More Flips

Lavar Keys Flips to Indiana Former Penn State commit and three-star wide receiver Lavar Keys has now flipped to Indiana: The Maryland native originally committed to Penn State in August of 2024 and decommitted on October 12, the day James Franklin was fired. He visited Indiana on October 25 for its resounding 56-6 win over […]

23 days ago | 0 reads

This Week in Happy Valley: Defense Travels

Penn State’s defense has finally started to figure things out late in the season. Long snapper Tyler Duzansky was named a semifinalist for the Mannelly Award. Kaytron Allen has a shot to break the rushing record against Nebraska. Terry Smith explains what Saturday’s win meant to him. A players-only meeting helped Penn State hockey flip […]

23 days ago | 0 reads

The 5 Things About College Football from Week 12

Michigan and USC Keep Playoff Hopes Alive…For Now Michigan and USC both barely passed tests to keep their playoff hopes alive on Saturday. The Wolverines needed a game-winning field goal to beat Northwestern, 24-22, in Wrigley Field. Michigan was in danger of the upset after turning the ball over five times, but were saved by […]

23 days ago | 0 reads

Nittany Lions in the NFL 2025: Week 11

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: […]

23 days ago | 0 reads

Big Ten Superlatives: Week 12

The season has entered its final few weeks and we finally saw a Penn State victory. But, what else was going on around the Big Ten over the weekend? Let’s take a look at some of the storylines. Best Win of the Week: USC Keeps Playoff Hopes Alive It was a rare rainy, nasty weather […]

24 days ago | 0 reads

Report: Virginia Tech Expected to Hire James Franklin

A little over a month after Penn State fired long-time head coach James Franklin, it appears that he has found a new landing spot. According to Pete Thamel, James Franklin is nearing an agreement with Virginia Tech to be the Hokies’ next head coach. Details have yet to be released on Franklin’s new gig, but […]

24 days ago | 0 reads

Big Ten Power Rankings – Week 12

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 […]

24 days ago | 0 reads

BSD MVP: Kaytron Allen

Kaytron Allen is now less than 150 yards away from being the all-time rushing leader in Penn State history. In Saturday’s 28-10 win at Michigan State, the senior had the most productive day of his career. Allen ran for 181 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns, book ending Penn State’s win, and earning him […]

24 days ago | 1 read

MMQB – Happy

For the first time since September Penn State has won a football game. 8 weeks without a victory. Several – mostly? – near misses, but for the first time since playing Villanova the Lions had a higher score than their opponent when the clock struck aughts. And I gotta say, I’m happy. For beating a […]

25 days ago | 0 reads

Poll Watch: Ohio State, Indiana Remain Unbeaten and Atop the Polls

Penn State completed their gauntlet of top-two teams in both the Coaches Poll and the Associated Press ranking, and three other conference foes remain in the polls. The Big Ten still boasts the Coaches Poll and the Associated Press ranking, and three other conference teams remain in the polls. Ohio State widened their lead at […]

25 days ago | 0 reads