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Black Shoe Diaries

https://www.blackshoediaries.com/ | 456 entries published

DOMINATE THE STATE

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Penn State 76, Fairfield 68: Lions Ruin Stag Party

As a former Penn State basketball coach would say, Penn State’s season-opening win over Fairfield was “gritty, not pretty.” For most of the night, the Nittany Lions flirted with disaster against a 15-point underdog Stags team, but put together a run when they absolutely had to late in the game in order to secure the […]

2 months ago | 1 read

YAY HOOPS(?): Penn State vs. Fairfield Open Thread

After a pair of exhibition games, the Nittany Lions officially tip off Year 3 of the Mike Rhoades era against Fairfield. Unfortunately, you are going to need a B1G+ streaming subscription to watch tonight’s contest, which starts at 7:00 PM EST. If you haven’t done so already, check out our preview. As always, the usual […]

2 months ago | 0 reads

Penn State vs Fairfield Preview: Nittany Lions Season Kicks Off

The Nittany Lions’ 2025-26 season kicks off on Monday! Penn State hopes to improve from an abysmal 2024-25 season, where a team expected to compete for a postseason bid instead finished 17th in the conference. Mike Rhoades lost plenty of talent to graduation, some to the portal, and one to the NBA draft, so this […]

2 months ago | 0 reads

Big Ten Power Rankings – Week 10

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 […]

2 months ago | 0 reads

Big Ten Superlatives: Week 10

Twelve conference teams were in action in six games that pitted B1G on B1G – so what were some of the highlights? Let’s take a deeper look. Best Win of the Week: USC Rallies on the Road Since joining the Big Ten, USC has not done well playing on the road. Last year, there were […]

2 months ago | 0 reads

BSD MVP: Running Backs

It’s rinse and repeat here at Black Shoe Diaries with our weekly MVP award. Once again, Penn State lost – and once again there weren’t many bright spots outside of Kaytron Allen. Well, until at least Nicholas Singleton showed some of the things that we’ve expected all year long. So, though Penn State lost 38-14 […]

2 months ago | 0 reads

MMQB – 368 & 5

I wrote a couple weeks ago about the countdown to Kaytron Allen trying to become the Penn State career rushing leader, and given the relative meh-ness of this season, I think I’m going to keep tabs on it on a weekly basis, or at least until something more fun happens. Against Ohio State, Kaytron had […]

2 months ago | 2 reads

Poll Watch: Nittany Lions Host No. 2 Hoosiers

Penn State is still out of the Coaches Poll and the Associated Press ranking and they face the second-ranked team in the country on Saturday. Ohio State remains No. 1 in both polls after defeating the Nittany Lions, with other conference foes Indiana (2nd in both polls) Oregon (6th in both polls), Michigan (20th in […]

2 months ago | 0 reads

Position Grades: Ohio State

Well, at least that first half was kinda fun, no? Time to rip off the band-aid, once again… Quarterback: C Considering this was his second career start against yet another ferocious defense, Ethan Grunkemeyer did not allow himself to get rattled and even made some nice throws when he had time in the pocket. Unfortunately, […]

2 months ago | 2 reads

Social Media Reactions to Penn State vs. Ohio State

While fan expectations were not high for Penn State’s once-marquee matchup with Ohio State, the Nittany Lions still got their money’s worth in the first half. Nicholas Singleton rounded into form, and Ethan Grunkemeyer helped orchestrate one of the team’s best drives of the season. Suddenly, Penn State was within one score. Still, plenty of […]

2 months ago | 2 reads

Penn State No Match for Top-Ranked Buckeyes: Post-Game Link Dump

Penn State is still searching for an identity after suffering fifth straight loss. Ethan Grunkemeyer navigated a difficult situation against the nation’s best defense in just his second start. The Nittany Lions find themselves in the middle of the storm in a season that continues to unravel. The Buckeyes raced past Penn State in the […]

2 months ago | 0 reads

Penn State Opens as Two-Score Underdog at Home Against Indiana

Penn State entered 2025 as the #2 team in the nation. Now, they will host the nation’s #2 team while being unranked following a five-game losing stretch. Indiana has opened as a 13.5-point favorite over the Nittany Lions on Saturday, according to FanDuel. It’s no surprise Penn State is a home underdog, but the spread […]

2 months ago | 0 reads

It Was A Good First Half

The Nittany Lions continued their spiral into a now-five-game losing streak, likely to be six, when it’s all said and done, on the road against the Ohio State Buckeyes. No one in their right mind thought they had a chance, but, for at least a half, Penn State looked like it was ready to shock […]

2 months ago | 0 reads

Ohio State 38, Penn State 14: Second Half Shutdown

For 30 minutes, Penn State, thanks to a key turnover and a lot of heart, looked like a team that had a chance at pulling off one of the biggest upsets in program history. But then the second half happened. Ohio State looked the part of the No. 1 team in the country with a […]

2 months ago | 2 reads

Early Morning Open Thread: Penn State vs. Ohio State

Well, this isn’t the Penn State-Ohio State match-up we wanted, but it’s the Penn State-Ohio State match-up we’re getting. Hardly a week goes by without something unthinkable happening on a college football field. May this week finally be our turn – for all the right reasons. WE ARE…

2 months ago | 5 reads

Penn State 4, Ohio State 3: No Fink, No Problem

No. 4 Penn State converted three times on the power play on Friday night in a 4-3 win over No. 17 Ohio State. The Nittany Lions completed the road sweep without Aiden Fink, who missed tonight’s game with an injury. First Period Penn State had an early power play chance and cashed in on Ohio […]

2 months ago | 0 reads

The 5 College Football Games to Watch in Week 10

(#9)Vanderbilt at (#20)TexasNoon, ABC Can Vandy go on the road and deliver a knockout punch to the nation’s preseason #1 team? That question pretty much sums up how much college football has changed in a short few years. Diego Pavia will once again attempt to work his magic in a game where points may be […]

2 months ago | 5 reads