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  1. <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
  2. <feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xml:lang="en">
  3.  <title>Black Shoe Diaries -  All Posts</title>
  4.  <subtitle>DOMINATE THE STATE</subtitle>
  5.  <icon>https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47529/blackshoediaries_fave.png</icon>
  6.  <updated>2024-05-17T12:39:51-04:00</updated>
  7.  <id>http://www.blackshoediaries.com/rss/current/</id>
  8.  <link type="text/html" href="https://www.blackshoediaries.com/" rel="alternate"/>
  9.  <entry>
  10.    <published>2024-05-17T12:39:51-04:00</published>
  11.    <updated>2024-05-17T12:39:51-04:00</updated>
  12.    <title>Hidden Gems: 2009 Volleyball National Championship Vs Texas</title>
  13.    <content type="html">  
  14.  
  15.    &lt;figure&gt;
  16.      &lt;img alt="Penn State women’s volleyball head coach Russ Rose points at the crowd as he is recognized on the field during a time out." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ieqL9TR2UUeGqfZ4M00n5WpgQJw=/0x0:4201x2801/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73354054/1026714190.0.jpg" /&gt;
  17.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Photo by Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  18.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  19.  
  20.  &lt;p&gt;The 4Peat almost never happened!&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="rBJXwM"&gt;&lt;em&gt;We’re bringing back Hidden Gems! Some of you longtime BSD readers may remember this series where we reflect on the games we’ve enjoyed over the years that haven’t quite lived on in Penn State lore. We’ll be giving these games their due, as we reflect on a variety of memorable (but not too memorable) games from different Nittany Lions teams over the years.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  21. &lt;p id="679Xee"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Next up, Penn State’s thrilling match with Texas for the 2009 national title was instrumental in continuing the most dominant run in women’s volleyball history.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  22. &lt;hr class="p-entry-hr" id="DmP30t"&gt;
  23. &lt;p id="SYiowN"&gt;Gather ‘round children, today we’re going to talk about volleyball! The &lt;a href="https://www.blackshoediaries.com"&gt;Penn State Nittany Lions&lt;/a&gt; held the record for most national titles in the sport until a few years ago, when Stanford regained the lead with nine. Penn State’s seven national titles remains second in the sport. &lt;/p&gt;
  24. &lt;p id="LAJdM8"&gt;Starting in 2007, the team won six national titles in an eight-year span, four of which came in a row, with the 2008 team going down as one of the best in the history of the sport, if not the best. But that’s not the one we’re talking about today. Today, we’ll focus on the middle of that stretch: The 2009 national championship between Penn State and the &lt;a href="https://www.burntorangenation.com"&gt;Texas Longhorns&lt;/a&gt;. &lt;/p&gt;
  25. &lt;p id="HOb6Yd"&gt;In 2009, Texas was in a similar spot as Penn State was in 2007: Their last national championship was a long time ago, and a recent resurgence saw the hope for more. Everything was going to plan. The only thing standing in their way was the two-time defending national champions, who was in the middle of what would be a record 109-win streak, and had just come off a season where they didn’t lose a single set until the national semi-finals. Not as daunting as the 2008 team, the 2009 squad was still a force to be reckoned with. And Texas knew it would take a herculean effort to take down the undefeated Lions.&lt;/p&gt;
  26. &lt;p id="GU1wle"&gt;The Longhorns gave it their best shot. In fact, their first punch was so great that they won their first two sets. Victory, and a title in the modern era, was so close they could taste it. &lt;/p&gt;
  27. &lt;p id="MDRzav"&gt;Megan Hodge, Alisha Glass, Blair Brown, and Arielle Wilson, had other plans. A hard-fought third set, Hodge tipped in a set point that saw Texas came all the way back. That ray of hope was all the Lions needed. The Longhorns wouldn’t make things easy, but the Nittany Lions go the fourth set. And, with their backs against the wall, Penn State managed to fight off Texas yet again in the fifth, after the Longhorns had taken the early lead. Up 14-12, Texas fought off the first set point. The Nittany Lions, however, were simply too much. Penn State would go on to have their second undefeated season in a row (the Lions own two of the five undefeated seasons in the sport’s history), and they’d bring their third national title in a row.&lt;/p&gt;
  28. &lt;p id="Ye2X6z"&gt;Penn State’s run from 2007 to 2014 is the most dominant in the sport’s history. But that run almost never happened, and it required the Lions’ greatest effort to fight off a team dead set in winning a title of their own.&lt;/p&gt;
  29. &lt;div id="2SQOrb"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 75%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HoIZVyLqGaI?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  30. &lt;div id="owMMiw"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/b8qZJeaPL98?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  31.  
  32. </content>
  33.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.blackshoediaries.com/2024/5/17/24159050/hidden-gems-2009-volleyball-national-championship-penn-state-nittany-lions-texas-longhorns-four-peat"/>
  34.    <id>https://www.blackshoediaries.com/2024/5/17/24159050/hidden-gems-2009-volleyball-national-championship-penn-state-nittany-lions-texas-longhorns-four-peat</id>
  35.    <author>
  36.      <name>misdreavus79</name>
  37.    </author>
  38.  </entry>
  39.  <entry>
  40.    <published>2024-05-17T10:44:19-04:00</published>
  41.    <updated>2024-05-17T10:44:19-04:00</updated>
  42.    <title>Spring Sports Update: Softball Makes NCAA Tournament</title>
  43.    <content type="html">  
  44.  
  45.    &lt;figure&gt;
  46.      &lt;img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/BwVnNQG8zdCFtm2Ld92tfmM1BbA=/37x0:949x608/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73353704/IMG_6843.0.jpeg" /&gt;
  47.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Mark Selders- Penn State Athletics&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  48.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  49.  
  50.  &lt;p&gt;Softball earns first bid since 2011, lacrosse teams bow out of NCAAs early&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="yN8dN4"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Softball&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  51. &lt;p id="L0XjAm"&gt;The softball team qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011! Penn State will play in the College Station regional this weekend. The Nittany Lions will make their postseason debut this afternoon against Texas State, with first pitch scheduled for 4pm. &lt;a href="https://www.goodbullhunting.com"&gt;Texas A&amp;amp;M&lt;/a&gt; and Albany will also play in the regional. &lt;/p&gt;
  52. &lt;p id="qTRtVn"&gt;The regionals round is a double elimination format, with the last remaining team advancing to the super regional next week.&lt;/p&gt;
  53. &lt;p id="iR7Kls"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Men’s&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Lacrosse&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  54. &lt;p id="e4BzdA"&gt;The men’s lacrosse team dropped a 12-9 heartbreaker to Georgetown on Sunday afternoon in the NCAA Tournament first round. Penn State held a 7-2 lead in the first half but was shut down offensively in the second half by a stifling Georgetown defense. &lt;/p&gt;
  55. &lt;p id="a30AxB"&gt;Matt Traynor scored three goals ans TJ Malone added two goals and two assists in the game. Goalie Jack Fracyon made 13 saves.&lt;/p&gt;
  56. &lt;p id="E0bTJz"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Women’s&lt;/strong&gt; &lt;strong&gt;Lacrosse&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  57. &lt;p id="wvQG23"&gt;The women’s team was also eliminated in the NCAA Tournament first round with a tough 14-13 loss to James Madison. Gretchen Gilmore did all she could, scoring a career-high seven goals in the game, including a goal to give Penn State a 13-12 lead with 7 minutes left. The Dukes countered with two goals in the final five minutes to end the Lions’ season.&lt;/p&gt;
  58.  
  59. </content>
  60.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.blackshoediaries.com/2024/5/17/24158971/penn-state-nittany-lions-softball-mens-womens-lacrosse-ncaa-tournament"/>
  61.    <id>https://www.blackshoediaries.com/2024/5/17/24158971/penn-state-nittany-lions-softball-mens-womens-lacrosse-ncaa-tournament</id>
  62.    <author>
  63.      <name>Colin_Murphy</name>
  64.    </author>
  65.  </entry>
  66.  <entry>
  67.    <published>2024-05-16T08:47:00-04:00</published>
  68.    <updated>2024-05-16T08:47:00-04:00</updated>
  69.    <title>2024 Opponent Snapshot: Kent State</title>
  70.    <content type="html">  
  71.  
  72.    &lt;figure&gt;
  73.      &lt;img alt="COLLEGE FOOTBALL: OCT 14 Kent State at Eastern Michigan" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/w3IULftCe0RKAG1LywTC9M4a2L4=/1x0:2739x1825/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73351050/1724712081.0.jpg" /&gt;
  74.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Photo by Steven King/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  75.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  76.  
  77.  &lt;p&gt;It should be a very relaxing Saturday afternoon in Beaver Stadium&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h2 id="tcYQdf"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Quick 2023 Recap&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  78. &lt;p id="LllQUM"&gt;Put simply, Kent State was one of the worst teams in college football in 2023. In fact, Athlon Sports even ranked them dead last, &lt;a href="https://athlonsports.com/college-football/college-football-top-133-team-rankings-2023"&gt;No. 133&lt;/a&gt;, in its season-ending poll of all FBS programs. The Golden Flashes went 1-11 overall in coach Kenni Burns’s first year, with their lone win coming at home against Central Connecticut State. Kent State was winless in the MAC and just one of their losses on the year came by less than two scores. Probably the most notable performance of 2023 was a somewhat respectable 28-10 loss at the hands of Arkansas.&lt;/p&gt;
  79. &lt;p id="YKUjKm"&gt;Kent State had some major coaching changes, too. Old BSD friend Matt Limegrover was the offensive coordinator for Kent in 2024, but his offense topped 17 points on the year just three times. Meanwhile, Kent’s best defensive player hit the portal and is headed to Indiana, while last year’s defensive coordinator, David Duggan, left the program in April to take a high school job.&lt;/p&gt;
  80. &lt;h2 id="VeytwW"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offensive Player to Watch: WR Chrishon McCray&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  81. &lt;p id="8o9j00"&gt;As noted, Kent State’s offense did not produce a whole lot of fireworks in 2023. But, in his second year on campus, McCray emerged as one of the best playmakers for the Golden Flahes. He had more than 600 yards receiving and twice went for more than 100 yards and two scores in conference games. Bigger yet, as is the problem with many MAC programs, McCray did not try to capitalize on his success by trying to transfer to a higher profile program.&lt;/p&gt;
  82. &lt;h2 id="9hDr3a"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Defensive Player to Watch: DE Stephen Daley&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  83. &lt;p id="MAluty"&gt;Kent State’s best potential returning defensive lineman is headed to Indiana. But Daley, who will be a junior, also proved to be a disruptor. He accumulated 48 tackles, including 5.5 tackles for loss. In the spring game, the edge rusher accounted for two sacks.&lt;/p&gt;
  84. &lt;h2 id="qbltWz"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Kent State Wins If&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  85. &lt;p id="elCwrA"&gt;Patrick wasn’t snarky yesterday when discussing a different &lt;a href="https://www.blackshoediaries.com/2024/5/15/24155977/2024-opponent-snapshot-bowling-green-football-falcons-penn-state-2024-season-schedule-preview-bsd"&gt;MAC opponent&lt;/a&gt;, but I will be today. This team isn’t as good as Delaware, an FCS level team who visited in 2023. The only way they exit Beaver Stadium with a win is if Penn State is suffering from major injury issues off a bye week and the backups turn the ball over too much.&lt;/p&gt;
  86. &lt;h2 id="ET2tTi"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Penn State Wins If&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  87. &lt;p id="h8AfT5"&gt;It doesn’t sleepwalk through a post-bye game and have a bunch of turnovers. Like I mentioned, this will be the worst team to come to Beaver Stadium this year. It should be a game to get a lot of players action ahead of back-to-back home conference games against Illinois and UCLA that follow.&lt;/p&gt;
  88. &lt;p id="SXZKvg"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  89. &lt;p id="Ou6SH2"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  90.  
  91. </content>
  92.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.blackshoediaries.com/2024/5/16/24155591/2024-opponent-snapshot-kent-state-football-preview"/>
  93.    <id>https://www.blackshoediaries.com/2024/5/16/24155591/2024-opponent-snapshot-kent-state-football-preview</id>
  94.    <author>
  95.      <name>Bennett765</name>
  96.    </author>
  97.  </entry>
  98.  <entry>
  99.    <published>2024-05-16T08:04:00-04:00</published>
  100.    <updated>2024-05-16T08:04:00-04:00</updated>
  101.    <title>SWH is Wondering About the Whiteout</title>
  102.    <content type="html">  
  103.  
  104.    &lt;figure&gt;
  105.      &lt;img alt="Ohio State v Penn State" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ZCYQmMalq221idyLmw_rSlOVIHk=/0x0:3504x2336/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73351003/77720918.0.jpg" /&gt;
  106.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  107.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  108.  
  109.  &lt;p&gt;What team will get the Whiteout experience?&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="WDclLj"&gt;There has been a lot of debate about what Big Ten opponent will face the Whiteout crowd at Beaver Stadium. Here are some &lt;a href="https://www.psucollegian.com/football/dueling-columns-who-should-penn-state-play-in-the-2024-white-out/article_e334612c-1252-11ef-b671-4bbdde36eeb3.html"&gt;Collegian opinions&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  110. &lt;p id="f7O9He"&gt;Speaking of the schedule, Ben Jones gives &lt;a href="https://www.statecollege.com/articles/penn-state-football/penn-state-football-way-too-early-schedule-predictions/"&gt;his prediction&lt;/a&gt; on the results for 2024. He has an interesting projected final record...&lt;/p&gt;
  111. &lt;p id="lbea8i"&gt;Wondering about Nittany Lions of the past? How is a &lt;a href="https://www.on3.com/teams/penn-state-nittany-lions/news/former-penn-state-quarterback-taquan-roberson-picks-second-transfer-destination/"&gt;former quarterback&lt;/a&gt; doing, and where is he headed for this fall?&lt;/p&gt;
  112. &lt;p id="VhOiZE"&gt;Olu Fashanu &lt;a href="https://www.newyorkjets.com/news/olu-fashanu-signs-rookie-contract-jets"&gt;secures that bag&lt;/a&gt; with the Jets.&lt;/p&gt;
  113. &lt;p id="jcUfEx"&gt;One of the &lt;a href="https://www.si.com/college/pennstate/football/michael-mauti-returns-to-penn-state-in-development-post-for-athletics-01hxt3m6k51n"&gt;most valuable linebackers&lt;/a&gt; to play for Penn State in the last 15 years is returning to Happy Valley.&lt;/p&gt;
  114. &lt;p id="rrBgP5"&gt;Switching gears to future Penn Staters, let’s compare a &lt;a href="https://247sports.com/college/penn-state/article/how-does-matt-henderson-compare-to-penn-states-recent-tight-end-signings-231743762/"&gt;new tight end commit&lt;/a&gt; to some of the best at his position in recent years.&lt;/p&gt;
  115. &lt;p id="ky9D8r"&gt;Now onto the diamond...the Nittany Lions &lt;a href="https://gopsusports.com/news/2024/5/15/baseball-travels-to-maryland-for-regular-season-finale.aspx"&gt;finish up the regular season &lt;/a&gt;against Maryland beginning today.&lt;/p&gt;
  116. &lt;p id="SOLnYM"&gt;ICYMI, the softball team is &lt;a href="https://www.statecollege.com/articles/penn-state-sports/penn-state-softball-reaches-ncaa-tournament-for-first-time-in-13-years/"&gt;headed to the NCAA tournament&lt;/a&gt; for the first time in a baker’s dozen years. There was quite a bit of consternation about the seeding...(for one thing, all 13 SEC teams are in the field).&lt;/p&gt;
  117. &lt;p id="8mBmeQ"&gt;Carolyn Kieger may have lost &lt;a href="https://onwardstate.com/2024/05/13/former-lady-lion-forward-kylie-lavelle-transfers-to-st-johns/"&gt;several of her key players&lt;/a&gt;, but she gained &lt;a href="https://gopsusports.com/news/2024/5/15/womens-basketball-penn-state-womens-basketball-signs-eastern-arizona-transfer-vitoria-santana.aspx"&gt;two&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://gopsusports.com/news/2024/5/14/womens-basketball-lady-lions-add-transfer-tamera-johnson-to-roster.aspx"&gt;more&lt;/a&gt; this week. The transfer portal really is crazy no matter what the sport...&lt;/p&gt;
  118.  
  119. </content>
  120.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.blackshoediaries.com/2024/5/16/24157622/bsd-swh-is-wondering-about-the-whiteout-washington-ucla-ohio-state-baseball-lacrosse"/>
  121.    <id>https://www.blackshoediaries.com/2024/5/16/24157622/bsd-swh-is-wondering-about-the-whiteout-washington-ucla-ohio-state-baseball-lacrosse</id>
  122.    <author>
  123.      <name>LndoBSD</name>
  124.    </author>
  125.  </entry>
  126.  <entry>
  127.    <published>2024-05-15T08:59:21-04:00</published>
  128.    <updated>2024-05-15T08:59:21-04:00</updated>
  129.    <title>Phat Mat Stats by Nat: Olympic Team Trials</title>
  130.    <content type="html">  
  131.  
  132.    &lt;figure&gt;
  133.      &lt;img alt="The Bryce Jordan Center just prior to the Final Session of the 2024 Olympic Wrestling Team Trials" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/r-IMP73c5WF_tLbE1xY0UOIQr20=/0x203:4032x2891/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73348539/statlede.0.png" /&gt;
  134.        &lt;figcaption&gt;The Bryce Jordan Center just prior to the Final Session of the 2024 Olympic Wrestling Team Trials | Nathaniel Rasmussen, Black Shoe Diaries&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  135.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  136.  
  137.  &lt;p&gt;Nat did a deep dive into bout-level statistics, to take a closer look at how all Previous, Current, and Future Nittany Lions scored at the toughest wrestling tournament in the land.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="Ls3KIk"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Jp&lt;/strong&gt;: I’m excited for this! Nat put in some heavy digital labor to unearth and re-aggregate bout-level data on the Olympic Team Trials. The &lt;a href="https://www.blackshoediaries.com/2024/4/28/24136497/usa-wrestling-olympic-trials-10000ft-postview"&gt;OTT tourney was absolutely loaded with the best wresters our country has to offer&lt;/a&gt;, and it also included a very high number of grapplers (20!) affiliated with Penn State in some way: in the past, the present the future. &lt;/p&gt;
  138. &lt;p id="xuCWaw"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Nat&lt;/strong&gt;: Even weeks after our OTT recap published, I couldn’t help but look at what was on the cutting room floor to see what additional insights we might be able to make from some of the data. So I we went ahead and recorded and compiled some of the information for a quick look.&lt;/p&gt;
  139. &lt;h2 id="LwKkKg"&gt;The Nittany Lion Wrestlers&lt;/h2&gt;
  140. &lt;p id="xWDiQP"&gt;The 20 Nittany Lions who competed at OTT’s are organized into the following affiliation groups, at the time OTT’s were held. A number of changes occurred soon afterward, which are indicated in parentheses.&lt;/p&gt;
  141. &lt;h3 id="k4jJdI"&gt;PSU/NLWC&lt;/h3&gt;
  142. &lt;p id="Pe0Bb5"&gt;These wrestlers are eligible to compete for the college team in the 2025 National Tourney and also competed for the Nittany Lion Wrestling Club Olympic Regional Training Center at the OTT’s:&lt;/p&gt;
  143. &lt;ul&gt;
  144. &lt;li id="jTqvXU"&gt;Beau Bartlett, 65kg / 143.3lb&lt;/li&gt;
  145. &lt;li id="Sf9PUB"&gt;Alex Facundo, 74kg / 163.2lb&lt;/li&gt;
  146. &lt;li id="E1KCoa"&gt;Levi Haines, 74kg / 163.2lb&lt;/li&gt;
  147. &lt;li id="zAZuSc"&gt;Mitchell Mesenbrink, 74kg / 163.2lb&lt;/li&gt;
  148. &lt;li id="wRBZAM"&gt;Carter Starocci, 86kg / 189.6lb &lt;/li&gt;
  149. &lt;li id="9pj4JH"&gt;Greg Kerkvliet, 125kg / 275.6lb&lt;/li&gt;
  150. &lt;/ul&gt;
  151. &lt;h3 id="t1DJ3A"&gt;PSU Alumns/NLWC&lt;/h3&gt;
  152. &lt;p id="EkDsip"&gt;These wrestlers competed for the college team in the past and competed for the NLWC at OTT’s:&lt;/p&gt;
  153. &lt;ul&gt;
  154. &lt;li id="jwWwBr"&gt;Nick Lee, 65kg / 143.3lb&lt;/li&gt;
  155. &lt;li id="OxombC"&gt;Zain Retherford, 65kg / 143.3lb (representing the United States at this weight in the 2024 Paris Olympics)&lt;/li&gt;
  156. &lt;li id="XKvahS"&gt;Jason Nolf, 74kg / 163.2lb&lt;/li&gt;
  157. &lt;li id="iEaV9D"&gt;Aaron Brooks, 86kg / 189.6lb (representing the United States at this weight in the 2024 Paris Olympics)&lt;/li&gt;
  158. &lt;li id="5OSe3k"&gt;David Taylor, 86kg / 189.6lb (retired from competition after OTT’s, now Head Coach of Oklahoma State University)&lt;/li&gt;
  159. &lt;li id="tuZ2dN"&gt;Max Dean, 86kg / 189.6lb &lt;/li&gt;
  160. &lt;/ul&gt;
  161. &lt;h3 id="STPjzq"&gt;PSU Commits&lt;/h3&gt;
  162. &lt;p id="rBjMEv"&gt;These wrestlers are incoming college team recruits, eligible to compete in the 2025 National Tourney:&lt;/p&gt;
  163. &lt;ul&gt;
  164. &lt;li id="lmWNz3"&gt;Luke Lilledahl, 57kg / 125.7lb&lt;/li&gt;
  165. &lt;li id="CrQnEf"&gt;Connor Mirasola, 86kg / 189.6lb &lt;/li&gt;
  166. &lt;/ul&gt;
  167. &lt;h3 id="FO1H7v"&gt;PSU Alumns&lt;/h3&gt;
  168. &lt;p id="K6Fhw5"&gt;These wrestles competed for the college team in the past, but competed for another RTC at OTT’s:&lt;/p&gt;
  169. &lt;ul&gt;
  170. &lt;li id="2jn6q7"&gt;Nico Megaludis, 57kg / 125.7lb&lt;/li&gt;
  171. &lt;li id="7DRkLf"&gt;Vincenzo Joseph, 74kg / 163.2lb (retired from competition after OTT’s)&lt;/li&gt;
  172. &lt;li id="mU1GZK"&gt;Mark Hall, 86kg / 189.6lb (retired from competition after OTT’s)&lt;/li&gt;
  173. &lt;/ul&gt;
  174. &lt;h3 id="iokf7O"&gt;NLWC&lt;/h3&gt;
  175. &lt;p id="DLcmUn"&gt;These wrestlers competed for another college team in the past, but competed for the NLWC at OTT’s:&lt;/p&gt;
  176. &lt;ul&gt;
  177. &lt;li id="KcAEMp"&gt;Thomas Gilman, 57kg / 125.7lb (retired from competition after OTT’s, now Assistant Coach of Oklahoma State University)&lt;/li&gt;
  178. &lt;li id="oduWvU"&gt;Kyle Dake, 74kg / 163.2lb (representing the United States at this weight in the 2024 Paris Olympics)&lt;/li&gt;
  179. &lt;li id="quvai4"&gt;Kyle Snyder, 97kg / 213.9lb (representing the United States at this weight in the 2024 Paris Olympics)&lt;/li&gt;
  180. &lt;/ul&gt;
  181. &lt;h2 id="uuQi46"&gt;The Data&lt;/h2&gt;
  182. &lt;p id="jNXPSR"&gt;Just a quick note about the tables below: You’ll see in the key on the right the color scale used to denote “Best, Median, &amp;amp; Worst.”  That scale is per &lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;column&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;, so you can see how each row performed relative to the rest of data in that column (eg, highest points scored per bout is dark green, as is lowest points scored per bout).&lt;/p&gt;
  183. &lt;h3 id="0vnfzM"&gt;Average Points Per Bout&lt;/h3&gt;
  184. &lt;p id="4wr9h6"&gt;Let’s take a look at scoring. Sample sizes vary from 2 matches, for Taylor, Dake, and Snyder, to 5 for Mesenbrink, Nolf, and Brooks. So averaging scoring per bout can be illustrative. Level of competition is another factor—everyone at OTT is a killer, and the cream of the crop at the top, is hard to score on.&lt;/p&gt;
  185. &lt;div id="p5BX6q"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 77.2727%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQ53mLadHHBC3ODwGz1kmZ85ACFjJzaiMk_o8NA3xgYZnOH9T0N_Bb8X6q4PRye8JPyShrNg-48zl9y/pubhtml?gid=1828826571&amp;amp;single=true" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen=""&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  186. &lt;p id="hQJqmW"&gt;&lt;small&gt;Note—if you have trouble seeing this data on your device, &lt;/small&gt;&lt;a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQ53mLadHHBC3ODwGz1kmZ85ACFjJzaiMk_o8NA3xgYZnOH9T0N_Bb8X6q4PRye8JPyShrNg-48zl9y/pubhtml?gid=1828826571&amp;amp;single=true"&gt;&lt;small&gt;try this link&lt;/small&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;small&gt;.&lt;/small&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  187. &lt;p id="wXLB9f"&gt;If we average each wrestler’s point differential per bout, we can see who was able to separate themselves from the field in terms of scoring. Let’s look at that last column another way.&lt;/p&gt;
  188. &lt;h3 id="AoEBAb"&gt;Scoring Differential&lt;/h3&gt;
  189. &lt;div id="5ps9Qr"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 77.2727%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQ53mLadHHBC3ODwGz1kmZ85ACFjJzaiMk_o8NA3xgYZnOH9T0N_Bb8X6q4PRye8JPyShrNg-48zl9y/pubhtml?gid=354052438&amp;amp;single=true" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen=""&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  190. &lt;p id="X8dgJ5"&gt;&lt;small&gt;Note—if you have trouble seeing this data on your device, &lt;/small&gt;&lt;a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQ53mLadHHBC3ODwGz1kmZ85ACFjJzaiMk_o8NA3xgYZnOH9T0N_Bb8X6q4PRye8JPyShrNg-48zl9y/pubhtml?gid=354052438&amp;amp;single=true"&gt;&lt;small&gt;try this link&lt;/small&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;small&gt;.&lt;/small&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  191. &lt;h4 id="jjOEKD"&gt;Takeaways&lt;/h4&gt;
  192. &lt;p id="Vg0IHq"&gt;The biggest surprise of the weekend was David Taylor going 0-2, and his place in the above chart reflects that shocking reality. This tournament is tough. Also: Mitchell Mesenbrink is a scoring machine. Shocking, I know.&lt;/p&gt;
  193. &lt;h3 id="RAt3fC"&gt;Scoring Varieties&lt;/h3&gt;
  194. &lt;p id="qH7Znp"&gt;Freestyle presents many opportunities to get points—but what do Lions prefer? The ones they can get, I suppose. But I thought it’d be fun to take a look. &lt;/p&gt;
  195. &lt;p id="kKKzbc"&gt;If Trackwrestling records specifics of scoring in freestyle tournaments, please break it to me gently in the comments—I wound up re-watching each match to align the point values assigned in Track’s bout recap pages to specific scoring moves. &lt;/p&gt;
  196. &lt;p id="8TVcjY"&gt;As such, there were certain scoring situations that were a bit up to my own interpretation. If a wrestler gets exposure on his opponent before the opponent turns down and concedes a takedown, the ref raises the hand sign for 2 points, with no further indication of which situation earned that call. There were maybe 3 or 4 situations where I had to play ref in deciding which was which.&lt;/p&gt;
  197. &lt;div id="iY16Ok"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 77.2727%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQ53mLadHHBC3ODwGz1kmZ85ACFjJzaiMk_o8NA3xgYZnOH9T0N_Bb8X6q4PRye8JPyShrNg-48zl9y/pubhtml?gid=1840775561&amp;amp;single=true" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen=""&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  198. &lt;p id="pKKNrH"&gt;&lt;small&gt;Note—if you have trouble seeing this data on your device, &lt;/small&gt;&lt;a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQ53mLadHHBC3ODwGz1kmZ85ACFjJzaiMk_o8NA3xgYZnOH9T0N_Bb8X6q4PRye8JPyShrNg-48zl9y/pubhtml?gid=1840775561&amp;amp;single=true"&gt;&lt;small&gt;try this link&lt;/small&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;small&gt;.&lt;/small&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  199. &lt;h3 id="DHFzRP"&gt;Points Per Nittany Lion Affiliation&lt;/h3&gt;
  200. &lt;p id="Q0EtCV"&gt;It’s kinda interesting to compare how the different kinds of Lions fared too:&lt;/p&gt;
  201. &lt;div id="YJVSlF"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 77.2727%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQ53mLadHHBC3ODwGz1kmZ85ACFjJzaiMk_o8NA3xgYZnOH9T0N_Bb8X6q4PRye8JPyShrNg-48zl9y/pubhtml?gid=818639583&amp;amp;single=true" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen=""&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  202. &lt;p id="v2JgRt"&gt;&lt;small&gt;Note—if you have trouble seeing this data on your device, &lt;/small&gt;&lt;a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQ53mLadHHBC3ODwGz1kmZ85ACFjJzaiMk_o8NA3xgYZnOH9T0N_Bb8X6q4PRye8JPyShrNg-48zl9y/pubhtml?gid=818639583&amp;amp;single=true"&gt;&lt;small&gt;try this link&lt;/small&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;small&gt;.&lt;/small&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  203. &lt;h3 id="EyNZsH"&gt;Bout by Bout Data&lt;/h3&gt;
  204. &lt;p id="UZTrmX"&gt;For you completionists, here is a bout-by-bout breakdown. The first column with match ID links to Track’s records of that bout. No idea how long Track will keep that data available—sadly, I believe Peacock is just about to pull all their footage from their streaming servers.&lt;/p&gt;
  205. &lt;div id="To7Kpn"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 77.2727%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQ53mLadHHBC3ODwGz1kmZ85ACFjJzaiMk_o8NA3xgYZnOH9T0N_Bb8X6q4PRye8JPyShrNg-48zl9y/pubhtml?gid=0&amp;amp;single=true" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen=""&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  206. &lt;p id="53GjPE"&gt;&lt;small&gt;Note—if you have trouble seeing this data on your device, &lt;/small&gt;&lt;a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vQ53mLadHHBC3ODwGz1kmZ85ACFjJzaiMk_o8NA3xgYZnOH9T0N_Bb8X6q4PRye8JPyShrNg-48zl9y/pubhtml?gid=0&amp;amp;single=true"&gt;&lt;small&gt;try this link&lt;/small&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;small&gt;.&lt;/small&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  207. &lt;p id="xI0XMS"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Jp&lt;/strong&gt;: I love this kind of data, and understand the labor involved to extract and organize it. The last time BSDWrestle hosted bout-level data at this level of detail was back in 2019, when &lt;a href="https://www.blackshoediaries.com/2019/3/5/18249273/penn-state-wrestling-phat-mat-stats-statistics-lemonpie-nolf-nickal-cassar-nick-lee-mark-hall"&gt;Brian Jones agreed to let us showcase his own deep dives of that year’s Nittany Lion college season&lt;/a&gt;. If any of you all here at BSDWrestle are ever inspired to do something similar, shoot us a note; we’d be happy to collaborate and showcase.&lt;/p&gt;
  208. &lt;p id="qYRa0c"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Nat:&lt;/strong&gt; I’m kind of a nut when it comes to re-watching Nittany Lion wrestling matches, so it wasn’t all that heavy of a lift for me. It did help that this tourney had a manageable amount of bouts (65) to examine. Doing it for all competitors in the bracket—or for an entire NCAA season—may have been a different story. And &lt;em&gt;lawd, &lt;/em&gt;I love spreadsheets, like any good wrestling nerd (my wife’s moniker) should. They make the math easy enough.&lt;/p&gt;
  209.  
  210. </content>
  211.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.blackshoediaries.com/2024/5/15/24146010/phat-mat-stats-by-nat-olympic-team-trials"/>
  212.    <id>https://www.blackshoediaries.com/2024/5/15/24146010/phat-mat-stats-by-nat-olympic-team-trials</id>
  213.    <author>
  214.      <name>Nathaniel.Rasmussen</name>
  215.      <name>Jp Pearson</name>
  216.    </author>
  217.  </entry>
  218.  <entry>
  219.    <published>2024-05-15T08:10:00-04:00</published>
  220.    <updated>2024-05-15T08:10:00-04:00</updated>
  221.    <title>2024 Opponent Snapshot: Bowling Green</title>
  222.    <content type="html">  
  223.  
  224.    &lt;figure&gt;
  225.      &lt;img alt="COLLEGE FOOTBALL: NOV 10 Toledo at Bowling Green" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/U-I0uH9ltKxV2ppegMsQjSvQ0Fw=/0x0:3160x2107/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73348469/1236528741.0.jpg" /&gt;
  226.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  227.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  228.  
  229.  &lt;p&gt;The Falcons head into their sixth season with former Michigan quarterback Scot Loeffler in charge of the program.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h2 id="tcYQdf"&gt;Quick 2023 Recap&lt;/h2&gt;
  230. &lt;p id="tlKzg6"&gt;By and large, it was a good season for the Falcons. The crown jewel of their out-of-conference slate wasn’t picking off JJ McCarthy three times — it was upsetting Georgia Tech (who ended up a bowl team) in Bobby Dodd Stadium in late September. Bowling Green finished the year 7-6 and earned themselves a bowl trip to the Quick Lane Bowl where it played competitively against Minnesota, losing a close one 30-24.&lt;/p&gt;
  231. &lt;h2 id="VeytwW"&gt;Offensive Player(s) to Watch: TE Harold Fannin Jr.&lt;/h2&gt;
  232. &lt;p id="GBx2FN"&gt;Bowling Green returns a good bit of production on the offensive side of the ball, but the player that could cause the most trouble for Penn State is tight end Harold Fannin Jr. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound tight end was a first-team All-MAC selection in 2023, and will be looking to build on a 44/623/6 season. He’s absolutely the type of player who could have moved up to the Big Ten via the transfer portal, so for Bowling Green to keep him is quite impressive.&lt;/p&gt;
  233. &lt;h2 id="9hDr3a"&gt;Defensive Player to Watch: CB Jordan Oladokun&lt;/h2&gt;
  234. &lt;p id="3N56C3"&gt;The Falcons had two of the best corners in the MAC in Jordan Oladokun and Jalen Huskey. Unfortunately for them, Huskey opted to transfer to Maryland. Fortunately, Oladokun is back for another season at Bowling Green, and he may just be the best corner in the MAC. At 6-foot, 180 pounds, Oladokun has the requisite size to go along with dangerous ball skills, having picked off four passes last season.&lt;/p&gt;
  235. &lt;h2 id="qbltWz"&gt;Bowling Green Wins If...&lt;/h2&gt;
  236. &lt;p id="QkJYZF"&gt;I could put the normal snarky response about a MAC team here, but the key to surviving an upset against a pretty solid Group of 5 (?) team is obvious: take care of the ball. If you look at the box score for Bowling Green’s upset of Georgia Tech last season, the most glaring stat was that Bowling Green was 3+ in the turnover margin. It picked off two passes and recovered a fumble while taking care of the ball themselves. That’s a recipe for success, and certainly something it’ll need if it wants to pull another upset this coming fall.&lt;/p&gt;
  237. &lt;h2 id="R9OVsa"&gt;Penn State Wins If...&lt;/h2&gt;
  238. &lt;p id="Rzd9mq"&gt;It takes Bowling Green seriously. You schedule MAC teams to learn about your team and work through things in the early part of the season, but that doesn’t mean the Nittany Lions should lack any focus. The starters need to come in with a focus and build a good lead, while the rotational players need to do the same when they (hopefully) come in toward the end of the third quarter. &lt;/p&gt;
  239.  
  240. </content>
  241.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.blackshoediaries.com/2024/5/15/24155977/2024-opponent-snapshot-bowling-green-football-falcons-penn-state-2024-season-schedule-preview-bsd"/>
  242.    <id>https://www.blackshoediaries.com/2024/5/15/24155977/2024-opponent-snapshot-bowling-green-football-falcons-penn-state-2024-season-schedule-preview-bsd</id>
  243.    <author>
  244.      <name>Patrick Koerbler</name>
  245.    </author>
  246.  </entry>
  247.  <entry>
  248.    <published>2024-05-14T07:17:00-04:00</published>
  249.    <updated>2024-05-14T07:17:00-04:00</updated>
  250.    <title>Penn State’s Hidden Gems: 2016 Penn State vs. Iowa</title>
  251.    <content type="html">  
  252.  
  253.    &lt;figure&gt;
  254.      &lt;img alt="Iowa v Penn State" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/F0nKBkSeoH-hJ4olbpxGipJXfvs=/0x0:5760x3840/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73345958/621968986.0.jpg" /&gt;
  255.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  256.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  257.  
  258.  &lt;p&gt;A special night in Happy Valley gets its due. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="rBJXwM"&gt;&lt;em&gt;We’re bringing back Hidden Gems! Some of you longtime BSD readers may remember this series where we reflect on the games we’ve enjoyed over the years that haven’t quite lived on in Penn State lore. We’ll be giving these games their due, as we reflect on a variety of memorable (but not too memorable) games from different Nittany Lions teams over the years. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  259. &lt;p id="679Xee"&gt;&lt;em&gt;First off...Penn State throttles Iowa on its way to a surprising Big Ten Championship. &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  260. &lt;p id="0aUyoi"&gt;We all remember that magical 2016 season that resulted in a Big Ten Championship that no one saw coming. But let’s set the stage for the visit from Iowa that occurred on the first Saturday of November. &lt;/p&gt;
  261. &lt;p id="vNrhGH"&gt;The Nittany Lions entered the night with a 6-2 record. Optimism was high as the team was riding a four-game win streak, which included a shocking upset over #2 &lt;a href="https://www.landgrantholyland.com"&gt;Ohio State&lt;/a&gt;, then avoided a let-down the following week with a 62-24 dismantling of Purdue on the road. However, there was still plenty of doubt with the Hawkeyes in town. While things were heading in the right direction, it wasn’t much of a stretch of imagination that the team that lost an early-seaon, mistake-prone contest at Pitt or a 49-10 embarassment at Michigan could rear its ugly head. There were also a listless first half against Minnesota where the team seemed to be sleepwalking towards another loss before momentum slowly started to shift in the third quarter. &lt;/p&gt;
  262. &lt;p id="wSuJWw"&gt;Then there is the built-in anxiety of playing Iowa. As Penn State fans came to learn, you never know quite what to expect against the Hawkeyes. There had been too many times since joining the Big Ten in 1993 that a victory was practically in the bag, only for a series of unpredictable events to play out for 60 minutes that resulted in another stinging defeat at the hand of the Hawkeyes. This seemed to be especially true when making the trip to Kinnick Stadium. Fortunately, this game was set to be played in Beaver Stadium, and the team looked every bit comfortable playing in front of 107,000+ passionate Nittany Lion fans. &lt;/p&gt;
  263. &lt;p id="m1ArnU"&gt;Penn State showed no hesistation from the start, taking the opening kick and going right down the field. Trace McSorley found Saeed Blacknall for a 19-yard score, and the Nittany Lions never looked back. The defense would set the tone early as well, as linebacker Jason Cabinda showed off his inner-Paul Posluzney to dive over the pile and halt a QB sneak on third-and-short to stop CJ Beathard in his tracks. Iowa managed to block a chip shot field goal on the next possession to prevent the Nittany Lions from gaining an early 10-0 lead, but they wouldn’t be able to keep it close much longer. &lt;/p&gt;
  264. &lt;p id="R5Bzvz"&gt;It was then time for one of those moments that can only happen with Saquon Barkley on your side. Facing a third-and-five, Iowa’s defense did something peculiar. The entire defensive line remained upright in a two-point stance, as if they feared Barkley would just sprint right past them by the time they took their hand off the ground. Well, they were right to worry. Barkley took the ball, quickly juked a couple Hawkeyes out of their shoes, then blazed down the sideline for a 57-yard touchdown as the Beaver Stadium crowd erupted. &lt;/p&gt;
  265. &lt;p id="eWqsN8"&gt;It was then tight end Mike Gesicki’s turn to shine, starting the next drive off with three conseutive receptions for 61 yards to get the offense all the way down to Iowa’s one yard line. McSorley finished the drive from there, plunging in for a score to give Penn State a commanding 21-0 advantage in the second quarter. While Iowa finally managed to get on the board on their final possession of the first half, the Penn State offense was able to quickly get down the field once again for a field goal as the second quarter expired to head to the locker room with a 24-7 advantage. &lt;/p&gt;
  266. &lt;p id="UeEqij"&gt;The defense came out of the locker room determined not to allow Iowa to make things interesting. The Hawkeyes first four drives of the half ended with a punt or turnover, keeping them off the board until a garbage time touchdown with under three minutes in regulation with the starting unit watching from the sideline. The offense kept its rhythm too, building its lead with an early field goal and two hightlight-reel touchdowns. The first was a 44-yard strike to Barkley as he managed to slip behind the Iowa defense on a wheel route. Later in the game, backup quarterback Tommy Stevens lined up at wide receiver, took a handoff on an end around, and then did his best Mike Alstott impression as he plowed through several Hawkeyes defenders, refusing to go down until he reached the end zone. &lt;/p&gt;
  267. &lt;p id="nxfusm"&gt;It was the icing on the cake of a 41-14 beatdown over a program that had broken our hearts a few too many times. &lt;/p&gt;
  268. &lt;p id="jbfK6d"&gt;It was one of those perfect nights where everything seemed to go right for the guys in blue and white. More importantly, it erased any doubt that this team would not be slipping back into its old ways, or fail to show up from week to week. The same Iowa team would go on to pull off a massive upset against Michigan to give Penn State a prayer to win its division for the first time. Ohio State would become an unlikely ally from there, defeating Michigan in overtime to help launch the Nittany Lions into the Big Ten title game, where they beat Wisconsin in a comeback thriller in a game that no one will ever refer to as a “Hidden Gem.” &lt;/p&gt;
  269. &lt;p id="p0x8or"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  270.  
  271. </content>
  272.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.blackshoediaries.com/2024/5/14/24152095/penn-state-nittany-lions-football-hidden-gem-2016-iowa-hawkeyes-saquan-barkley-trace-mcsorley"/>
  273.    <id>https://www.blackshoediaries.com/2024/5/14/24152095/penn-state-nittany-lions-football-hidden-gem-2016-iowa-hawkeyes-saquan-barkley-trace-mcsorley</id>
  274.    <author>
  275.      <name>Jared Slanina</name>
  276.    </author>
  277.  </entry>
  278.  <entry>
  279.    <published>2024-05-13T09:18:00-04:00</published>
  280.    <updated>2024-05-13T09:18:00-04:00</updated>
  281.    <title>2024 Opponent Snapshot: West Virginia</title>
  282.    <content type="html">  
  283.  
  284.    &lt;figure&gt;
  285.      &lt;img alt="COLLEGE FOOTBALL: SEP 02 West Virginia at Penn State" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/0Z25xKnV4FCKA128CBQa5MTZ7Is=/0x0:3354x2236/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73343603/1641490626.0.jpg" /&gt;
  286.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  287.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  288.  
  289.  &lt;p&gt;The Mountaineers finished No. 25 in last year’s final Coaches Poll.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;h2 id="tcYQdf"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Quick 2023 Recap&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  290. &lt;p id="LllQUM"&gt;Despite its season-opening loss in Beaver Stadium, West Virginia marched onward to an admirable 2023 campaign. The Mountaineers rattled off four wins in a row, including a Backyard Brawl victory over Pitt and two consecutive wins to open Big 12 play over Texas Tech and TCU. The 2023 team boasted a powerful rushing offense that ranked No. 1 in its conference and top-five nationally. It averaged 434.6 yards of offense per game, with 228.9 of those yards coming on the ground &lt;/p&gt;
  291. &lt;p id="6PbnEs"&gt;Neal Brown’s squad finished 9-4 after a win over UNC in the prestigious Duke’s Mayo Bowl and was ranked No. 25 in the final Coaches Poll, while it received votes in the final AP Poll. &lt;/p&gt;
  292. &lt;h2 id="VeytwW"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Offensive Player to Watch: QB Garrett Greene&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  293. &lt;p id="8o9j00"&gt;Garrett Greene has been getting a bit of national attention this offseason and has garnered some hype after receiving a top-10 quarterback grading by PFF. He’s a dual-threat quarterback in every sense of the term and his 13 rushing touchdowns were tied for most among quarterbacks in 2023. Last year was his first as West Virginia’s true QB1, and he struggled a bit as a pocket passer. Optimists would blame his 52.9% completion rate on a poor wide receiver room, but his legs posed enough of danger for him to be a net-positive under center. He finished with 2,406 yards and 16 touchdowns to four interceptions.&lt;/p&gt;
  294. &lt;h2 id="9hDr3a"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Defensive Player to Watch: SPUR Tyrin Bradley&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  295. &lt;p id="MAluty"&gt;Bradley will be the presumed starter at West Virginia’s “spur” position, which is some combination of a defensive end and sam linebacker. He’s a pure athlete at 6-foot-2 and 255 pounds, making him a scary pass-rushing prospect whether he’s down on the line or blitzing off the edge. Bradley played 327 snaps last year, logging 2.5 sacks, five TFLs, and an interception. He’s coming off an impressive bowl performance and is a top candidate to leap into stardom next season.&lt;/p&gt;
  296. &lt;div id="MJf9ul"&gt;
  297. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  298. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Tyrin Bradley having himself a day &lt;a href="https://t.co/dAzOPTv9y5"&gt;pic.twitter.com/dAzOPTv9y5&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Matt Gajewski (@Matt_Gajewski) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/Matt_Gajewski/status/1740170237679694019?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;December 28, 2023&lt;/a&gt;
  299. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  300. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  301.  
  302. &lt;/div&gt;
  303. &lt;h2 id="qbltWz"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;West Virginia Wins If&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  304. &lt;p id="elCwrA"&gt;Its rushing attack picks up too much momentum early. Penn State’s defense should theoretically be able to hold the powerful WVU ground game in check, especially given last year’s performance. But, an electric first-game atmosphere and some early explosive plays could turn this game into an all-out gash-fest a la Michigan the last two seasons.&lt;/p&gt;
  305. &lt;h2 id="ET2tTi"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Penn State Wins If&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  306. &lt;p id="h8AfT5"&gt;It eats its Wheaties. West Virginia might be a sneaky-good team this year, but Penn State has a multi-score advantage on paper. As long as the Nittany Lions come into the first game of the year prepared and ready to fight, they should leave Morgantown 1-0.&lt;/p&gt;
  307. &lt;h2 id="Irou20"&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  308. &lt;p id="SXZKvg"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  309.  
  310. </content>
  311.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.blackshoediaries.com/2024/5/13/24153307/penn-state-nittany-lions-football-west-virginia-preview-2024"/>
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  313.    <author>
  314.      <name>ryanparsons</name>
  315.    </author>
  316.  </entry>
  317. </feed>
  318.  

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