Skip to main content

Black Shoe Diaries

DOMINATE THE STATE

Latest Entries

BSD Mailbag 11/21/24

Jiminsantafe asks: Are we going to win those last two games? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ We very well could, especially if the team plays how they played against Indiana and in the fourth quarter against Michigan State! But as we all know from the rest of this season, just because the team can play this way doesn’t mean […]

Interviews with Frenemies: Nebraska

Well, I reached out to Nebraska’s SB Nation Site, Corn Nation, for information on the Huskers ahead of Saturday’s game. The staff there didn’t disappoint. In fact, the whole staff showed the hospitality that Nebraska folks have come to be known for in football. Nate, Todd, and Andy – three writers there – each answered […]

BSD Roundtable: Predicting The Next Penn State Head Coach

Yesterday, we shared our thoughts on who we would pick to be Penn State’s next head coach if we were in charge. Today, we are predicting what Pat Kraft will do. The question today is *who* will Penn State hire? Lando: Eli Drinkwitz Drinkwitz’s name has been mentioned the most more recently, and he seems […]

BSD Staff Predictions Roundtable: Nebraska

The Lions are back home for Senior Day against Nebraska in a mid-November “White Out.” How does the staff see this one playing out? Chris Penn State plays its final home game of the season against Nebraska, needing a win to try to get back to .500 on the season and strive for bowl eligibility. […]

Fall Sports Update: Women’s Soccer Advances

Women’s Soccer (10-7-3) The women’s soccer team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the 17th straight year with a 3-0 win over Army. Kaitlyn MacBean, Amelia White, and Dikte Bang each scored a goal to pace the offense. Mackenzie Gress and Amanda Poorbaugh both played in net and combined for a […]

Penn State vs. Nebraska: Game Preview

The Nittany Lions try to make it two wins in a row when Nebraska comes to town for a prime time clash on Senior Day. Penn State (4-6, 1-6) vs. Nebraska (7-3, 4-3) Kickoff: 7 p.m., Beaver Stadium, State College, PA The Betting Line: Penn State -8.5 TV: NBC, 7 p.m., Noah Eagle (play-by-play), Todd Blackledge (analyst), Kathryn […]

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.

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 […]

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: […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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: […]