Penn State listed among College Football Playoff 'sleepers' in 2024: Newsstand
Penn State news, notes, and updates for July 16 include the Lions being called a sleeper team to make the College Football Playoff, headlines of the day, and more. It’s time to dive into Tuesday’s top tweets and stories about head coach James Franklin’s program and college athletics.
Penn State tweets of the day
On a recent episode of ESPN’s ‘Get Up’ morning television show, the cast picked three teams who are not getting enough recognition as they should in terms of being a potential entrant in the 12-team College Football Playoff. The group picked Penn State, Ole Miss, and Virginia Tech, with all three hosts high on the Nittany Lions’ outlook in 2024.
“I’m going with Penn State, because if you look at the Nittany Lions, they had a really tough road,” ESPN college football reporter Heather Dinich. “They were in the Big Ten East, they had to beat Ohio State and Michigan. They don’t have to do that anymore. The Big Ten scrapped divisions. They still have to play Ohio State but you don’t face Michigan this year. This is a top-10 team if they can get there and get that running game going.”
Dinnich’s co-host, Matt Barrie, agreed.
“We say it all the time, Penn State is perennially 10-2, they can’t get by the two they need to. They may not have to anymore to get to the college football playoff.”
PSU is among the favorites nationally to make the expanded field. If so, it will be getting into the postseason tournament for the first time.
Headlines of the day
‘Leaner, meaner’ Micah Parsons promises ‘rude awakening’ for rest of NFL: Luciew, PennLive
Braswell Thomas opens up about why Penn State was always the right school for him: Snyder, BWI
Penn State’s Receivers Deploying Doubt as Motivational Tool: Wogenrich, SI
Lions’ new-look offensive line coming together this offseason: Fitz, BWI
Penn State announces 2024 home game themes: Linderman, Daily Collegian
Another up-and-coming Ohio prospect locks in Lasch Bash visit: Snyder, BWI
Quote of the day
“West Virginia definitely gave me a lot to think about. I was also supposed to take an official visit to Nebraska the weekend after West Virginia, but I didn’t follow through with that. With all the talk about Penn State, I kind of knew that as long as that holds up, that’s where I was going to end up.
“Honestly, the development at Penn State is just always on a higher level than West Virginia and Nebraska. Of course, those schools develop guys, but if you look at the statistics and the guys they’ve developed, Penn State has been more consistent. Also, being in the Big 10 compared to the Big 12, that was a plus.
“I had seen Penn State’s practice up close, too. I’ve seen it for myself how much Penn State goes at it at practice. They’re always getting themselves better and I definitely want to be around that kind of competitive environment. Maybe I could’ve went somewhere else and played sooner, but it’s more about the competitiveness and the environment they create that’ll help me the most long term.”
–New Jersey safety Braswell Thomas to BWI on picking PSU.
