What is Penn State paying UMass to host it Saturday? Trace McSorley works out for Colts: Newsstand
Penn State news, notes, and updates for Oct. 11 include the fee the Lions will pay UMass for this weekend’s game, plus a new NFL workout for Trace McSorley and more.
It’s time to dive into Wednesday’s top tweets and headlines about the Nittany Lions and college athletics.
Penn State tweets of the day
We start with info about the contract signed between Penn State and Massachusetts for this weekend’s meeting at Beaver Stadium. As MassLive reported this summer and PennLive confirmed via a Freedom of Information Act request on Tuesday, the Lions are giving the Minutemen $1.6 million for this non-conference matchup. MassLive says that Auburn gave the school $1.95 million to play it on the road in September. Next year, Georgia will give it $1.9 million. And, Iowa will pay out $1.7 million in 2025.
Penn State coach James Franklin discussed the philosophy of scheduling teams like UMass and Delaware during non-conference play on Tuesday as the College Football Playoff readies to expand along with upcoming conference realignment.
“I don’t think it’s changed,” Franklin said. ”I would say you could even make the argument it’s magnified. And, that’s why people are changing their schedules. Because, you look at who people are going to have to play just in our conference, it’s going to be even more challenging than it’s ever been.
“I don’t think the philosophy or the model has changed. You’ve got to do whatever you possibly can to give yourself a chance, number one, to be undefeated at the end of the season. With a bigger Playoff, there’s probably a little bit more wiggle room in terms of — right now it’s kind of undefeated or at the most one loss. And then, on top of that, if you’re not scheduling to be undefeated, you’re scheduling to have the least amount of losses possible to give yourself a chance to be in the Playoffs.”
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Franklin later added:
“In terms of the model that we’re using here at Penn State and we’re discussing, I don’t think the model has changed. I think I’ve been pretty clear on where we should schedule and how we should schedule philosophically. And, again, I think the data backs that.”
Top 10
- 1Breaking
AP Poll Shakeup
New Top 25 shows Saturday carnage
- 2
Auburn punished
SEC fines Tigers for field storming
- 3Hot
Coaches Poll
Chaos reflected in new Top 25
- 4New
Quinn Ewers MRI
Texas 'cautiously optimistic' on QB
- 5
Updated SEC title game scenarios
The path to the championship game is clear
In other news, former Lion Trace McSorley worked out for the Indianapolis Colts this week. The team brought numerous free agents in for an extended tryout this week. It aims to figure out its next steps with starter Anthony Richardson dealing with an injury.
Headlines of the day
Penn State’s James Franklin on the deep ball, the Nittany Lions’ two top corners, more: Flounders, PennLive
James Franklin: Team health ‘pretty good’ entering critical stretch: Bauer, BWI
Penn State Basketball: Lions to Face Georgia Tech at Madison Square Garden: Wogenrich, SI
Trimmings: Checking in on Penn State’s expected redshirts on defense: Fitz, BWI
3 Penn State football things to watch against bottom-feeder UMass: Allen, Daily Collegian
Penn State locks in visit with four-star quarterback for later this season: Snyder, BWI
UMass Brings Explosive Plays, But Minimal Defense to Weekend Clash: Jones, Statecollege.com
Quote of the day
“You’d always love to be totally healthy, and we’re not that, but I think we’re in a pretty good place. You’re managing the reps of the guys that have earned that, a guy who’s played a ton of football at Penn State, who’s played a ton of football in terms of college football in general, has played a bunch of reps for us this season. All those things kind of factor in, and then you manage that.
“The reality is we need to be in a good place going into this game. And, we need to be in a good place coming out of this game.”
–PSU coach James Franklin on his team’s health after the bye week.
