Penn State wrestling sweeps its weekend slate; opening Rose Bowl spread revealed: Newsstand
Penn State news, notes, and updates for Dec. 5 include a recap of the weekend that was in Lions’ wrestling, plus an opening spread for the Rose Bowl and more.
It’s time to dive into Monday’s top tweets and headlines about the Nittany Lions and college athletics.
Penn State tweets of the day
We start with a look back at the weekend that was for the Penn State wrestling team. Head coach Cael Sanderson’s team improved to 3-0 in the dual season by winning a pair of away matches. They topped Rider 37-3 before topping Lehigh 24-14. Defending national champion Max Dean was beaten twice at 197 pounds, first by Rider’s Ethan Lair by a 3-1 decision in sudden victory. Then, former Lion Michael Beard, who is now at Lehigh, beat Dean 11-9 on Sunday. Otherwise, things went mostly as expected for Penn State.
In other news, the opening spread is out for the Lions’ matchup with Utah in the Rose Biowl. Penn State is a short 1.5-point favorite for the matchup, which is set for 5 p.m. on Jan. 2. The Utes, who are the PAC-12 champs, and the Nittany Lions have never met before.
“Obviously the history and the tradition of the Rose Bowl speaks for itself,” PSU coach James Frankklin said. “We had a phenomenal experience last time we were involved. Our players and staff could not be more excited about making the trip again.
“Obviously got a ton of respect for the University of Utah, their history, their tradition, and Coach has done a phenomenal job there. I was able to watch their game the other night, and what a great game for college football. They played so well and really played well all season long.”
Headlines of the day
Penn State reserve defensive lineman announces transfer portal decision: McGonigal, PennLive
Penn State drops a few spots in final College Football Playoff Poll: Snyder, BWI
How Penn State’s NIL Collectives Are Confronting the Transfer Portal: Wogenrich, SI
James Franklin sets opt-out expectations, more: Notes: Bauer, BWI
Penn State football: James Franklin talks Joey Porter Jr., opt out, future decisions: Pickel, BWI
Quote of the day
“For Penn State specifically, obviously in my 12 years as a head coach, I’ve never had an opt-out until last year, and I think that’s a challenge across college football right now. I think that’s why there’s a lot of conversations going on about expansion and things like that.
“Obviously the Rose Bowl, whether you’re a coach or whether you’re a fan or whether you’re a player, the Rose Bowl holds a special place in a lot of people’s perspective.
“I think obviously playing in that type of game on that type of stage and against an opponent like Utah, I think it helps. We expect that almost the entirety of our team will play and compete, but that is a challenge in general for college football right now.”
–PSU coach James Franklin on if games like the Rose Bowl help convince players to play in the postseason instead of opting out.
