Penn State gets B+ grade for four-team CFP era; December signing day gets new date: Newsstand
Penn State news, notes, and updates for March 8 include the Lions’ grade in the four-team CFP era plus a new December signing day date and more.
It’s time to dive into Friday’s top tweets and headlines about the Nittany Lions and college athletics.
Penn State tweets of the day
We start with an interesting exercise from ESPN college football reporter David Hale. He graded and ranked all 86 teams who spent at least one week in the College Football Playoff committee’s top 25 over the course of the decade-long four-team Playoff era ahead of the expansion to 12 teams this fall. Penn State checked in at No. 13 overall and earned a B+ grade. The Lions were 88-39 over that stretch but never made the postseason tournament to decide the national champion.
“How good has Penn State been during the playoff era? That might be a matter of perspective,” Hale writes. “On one hand, SP+ says the Nittany Lions are the eighth-best team of the era. Their winning percentage ranks 12th among Power 5 schools. They’ve made the New Year’s Six in five of 10 years. That’s all great. On the other hand, they’ve spent just one week ranked in the top four, they have fewer wins over ranked opponents than UCLA, Mississippi State or Arizona State, and they’re 4-16 against their chief rivals, Michigan and Ohio State.
“Penn State would seem to be the team that spent the most time knocking on the door of the four-team playoff without actually making it, and therefore should be the team that benefits the most from playoff expansion. But it could also be the Nittany Lions have benefited already from a weak Big Ten outside of the top two teams, and there’s a clear line of demarcation between Michigan and Ohio State and everyone else.”
In other news, the December National Signing Day is officially on the move. Instead of starting on the third Wednesday of that month, it will now begin on “the Wednesday following the last FBS regular season contest,” per the Collegiate Commissioners Association, which manages National Letters of Intent.
Headlines of the day
Penn State must reload at the CB position this spring … and those talented transfers will help: Flounders, PennLive
Somerville DE Jayden Loftin locks in spring visits to Penn State and elsewhere: Snyder, BWI
For Penn State Football, an Early 2024 Rankings Boost: Wogenrich, SI
Penn State Recruiting Mini-Board – Cornerback: Fitz, BWI
Back Again, Warren Reflects on Long-Ago Position Change, Being a Red Zone Threat: Jones, Statecollege.com
Inside Lasch: Breaking down Penn State’s top 2025 receiver targets heading into spring: Snyder, BWI
A Big Ten school is already ‘No. 1’ for 2026 CB AJ Marks ahead of six spring visits: Simmons, On3
Quote of the day
“I think part of it’s just a natural thing or a hand-eye coordination thing. And then it really just comes with repetitions and getting on the jugs and making sure you’re with [quarterbacks] Beau [Pribula] and Drew [Allar] as much as you can and catching passes like that. But yeah, both baseball with specifically hand-eye is a big deal. Hitting the baseball isn’t as easy as it may seem sometimes. And, I think definitely basketball, going up for rebounds and catching values and stuff like that definitely just plays a part. It’s just something I’ve been doing my whole life.”
