You cannot be better than 2-0. Which is Penn State’s record. It will very (VERY) likely go to 3-0 after Saturday’s game against Villanova after the Nittany Lions’ preseason schedule wraps up.
But, two games into the highly-anticipated 2025 season, there are enough concerns about the second-ranked 2025 Nittany Lions to go around. At least — and especially — on offense. (Though I am going to give the O-line grace.) Especially with Ohio State and Oregon, ranking No. 1 and No., 4, respectively, in this week’s Associated Press poll.
So, let’s get into this week’s Top 10 — with the “Buy and Sell” theme — beginning with tight end Luke Reynolds, who I think has all the makings of a star down the road, if not in 2025:
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TOP 10 BUY and SELL
1. BUY Luke “Tyler Jr.” Reynolds. All preseason, Penn State head coach James Franklin was saying that “people aren’t talking enough about tight end Khalil Dinkins,” the penciled-in starter at tight end. Not any more, even though he’s a strong blocker and did grab a 9-yard TD toss from Drew Allar vs. FIU. But, Dinkins was targeted five times and had just that one reception. Some of that is on him and some is on Allar.
I think people should be talking more about Reynolds, who flashed as a true freshman last season despite playing behind generational talent Tyler Warren. Against FIU, Reynolds was targeted nine times and had seven receptions. He was Allar’s island of safety, the guy that QB1 saw as the place to go when in a bind. Despite the one-year rental of three portal receivers, Reynolds has the confidence of Allar and a good amount of rizz and excitement potential à la Warren.
Against FIU, Reynolds had 58 yards receiving, with 24 of those (43%) critically coming after the catch. Overall, just 62 of Penn State’s 200 passing yards were yards after a catch (YAC). The bulk of the other YAC (26) came when wide receiver Trebor Peña slipped through FIU on a short route and turned it into a 30-yard gain.
1a. SELL YAC. Other than Reynolds and Peña, PSU had only 12 yards after a catch, acknowledging Allar’s 42-yard TD pass to Devonte Ross was the result of a circus catch by Ross when he was already in the end zone.
2. BUY and SELL Nike gear. Penn State’s new deal with Adidas will not take effect until July 1, 2026 — which gives purveyors of Penn State Nike gear plenty of time to sell it off. And for PSU fans to buy it. A couple of thoughts about that process:
2a. Look to BUY Nike gear at Penn State’s Lion Surplus store, where the university sells a ton of leftovers, over-runs and institutional furniture. I’m a Lion Surplus devotee. Through the years, I’ve seen scores of Nike cleats, sporting goods and other apparel at Penn State’s very own outlet, a store located near the law school and the Blue Band practice field that sells everything from grapes and chocolate chip cookies to used PSU computers. All at fabulous prices.
2b. BUY Nike gear when you get a chance, whether in downtown State College, online or on campus — but they will NOT SELL IT at discounted prices. The long-time proprietor of a downtown State College retail business told me this week that he does not expect to see reduced prices on the horizon for Nike gear. Au contraire. He predicts there will be a sense of urgency when it comes to buying Nike Penn State gear before new Adidas merch kicks in next year, for myriad reasons — limited supply, fans of Nike quality, nostalgia and a collector’s mentality.
3. BUY Florida International’s effort on Saturday, despite a 34-point shutout. The visitors trailed just 10-0 after 35 minutes of action. Speaking of minutes: FIU had a significant edge in time of possession — 34:17 to 25:43, evidence that the Panthers more than held their own in many areas. In the first half, at least, FIU played with a greater sense of urgency and aggressiveness than did the No. 2-ranked team in the country playing at home. SELL Penn State’s first-half energy and focus on offense.
3a. BUY the state of Florida, which has long been known as a hotbed of high school football talent, and you could see that all over FIU’s roster. It had 80 players from Florida, and 24 from out-of-state (including one from Pennsylvania, a Lackawanna College transfer). Penn State has 47 players from PA on its roster, and seven from Florida (Randy Adrika, Antoine Belgrave-Shorter, Zane Durant, Koby Howard, King Mack, TJ Shanahan Jr. and Elliot Washington).
3b. SELL FIU vs. PSU in 2007. The Panthers did much worse on their first visit to Beaver Stadium, in the 2007 season-opener, as they lost 59-0 to Joe Paterno & Co. The head coach of that FIU team was current Miami (Fla.) head coach Mario Cristobal. Current PSU linebacker coach Dan Connor was a Penn State co-captain that season.
3c. BUY FIU’S BIGGEST UPSET EVER, 30-24 vs. Miami (Fla.), in 2019. When Saturday’s game was still close in the first half, I searched for FIU’s biggest upset ever. (PSU was a 41.5-point favorite.) Miami’s head coach that season was Manny Diaz, now in his second year as head coach at Duke after two seasons as Penn State’s defensive coordinator. Diaz’s running backs coach at Duke in 2024 was Willie Simmons — who is FIU’s first-year head coach. Diaz’s successor at Miami? Mario Cristobal.
4. BUY the historic success of Ellie Sheehan, the first female drum major in the 125-year history of Penn State’s Blue Band.
5. BUY the amazing performance by Missouri QB Beau Pribula on Saturday vs. Kansas. I listened to the end of the game, won 42-31 by Mizzou, on my way home from Beaver Stadium and was loudly rooting for Pribula, a former student of mine. Pribula, the former Penn State QB2 and former Central York High School star who grew up wanting to play for the Nittany Lions, was 30 of 39 for 334 yards and three TDs, with nary a pick vs. Kansas (the old home of current PSU OC Andy Kotelnicki). Pribula was 23 of 28 for 283 yards and four overall TDs (2 run, 2 pass) in Missouri’s 61-6 season-opening win over Central Arkansas.
6. SELL the performance of Pribula’s old Penn State teammate vs. FIU. Allar was throwing left, right and high for much of the first half. He did have a 7-of-8 stretch in the second half, but his overall numbers — 19 of 33 for 200 yards, leading an offense that was 3-of-12 on third down — were nothing to write to Medina about. Especially interesting were his post-game comments, knowing they emanated from a three-year starter and presumptive first-round NFL Draft pick:
6a. BUY Allar’s honesty: “I don’t think it was good enough. We have to be more consistent, and that starts with me… It’s me making the easy throws easy. I caught myself overthinking.”
6b. Reminder: I BOUGHT Allar last week. Read it here.
7. BUY the big plays of Nittany Lions Mr. Everything and Good Guy Dom DeLuca (blocked punt), frosh DE phenom Chaz Coleman (four solo tackles, two TFLs and a strip sack-and-run for 39 yards and a near TD) and prodigious punter Gabe Nwosu, who laced a 67-yarder and had another punt downed on the 2. All three of his punts were inside the 20.
8. SELL kickoffs by Nwosu. Two kickoffs by The Big Guy (6-foot-6, 297 pounds) went out of bounds, twice giving FIU the opportunity to start its drives at the 35-yard line. These are errors that can be costly in bigger games down the road. I wonder: Can Nwosu tackle like The Big Toe, Joey Julius (5-10, 258)?
9. BUY as legit the non-conference success of Penn State’s two biggest Big Ten rivals, No. 1 Ohio State and No. 4 Oregon:
9a. BUY OREGON’s total dismantling of Oklahoma State and its head coach Mike Gundy, on the coaching staff with Franklin years ago at Maryland. Here is Oregon’s path to their WhiteOut in Happy Valley:
Set. 13 – at Northwestern
Sept. 20 – host Oregon State
Sept. 27 – at Penn State (7:30 p.m., NBC)
9b. BUY Ohio State’s 14-7 season-opening victory over previous No. 1 Texas, with Buckeyes QB Julian Sayin getting his first start, and the Buckeyes’ 70-0 victory over Grambling State on Saturday. Ohio State’s road to its showdown vs. Penn State in The Horseshoe (notice how the byes match-up with Penn State’s):
Sept. 13 – host Ohio
Sept. 20 – bye
Sept. 27 – host Minnesota
Sept. 27 – at Wisconsin
Oct. 4 – host Minnesota
Oct. 11 – at Illinois
Oct. 18 – at Wisconsin
Oct. 25 – bye
Nov. 1 – host Penn State
10. BUY the 11 points that Penn State’s defense has surrendered in its first 120 minutes of football under Jim Knowles #TheProfessor. (11 by Nevada, zero vs. FIU.) It is the fewest points allowed by the Nittany Lions in Penn State’s first two games of the season since 2007, an 18-year span, when PSU yielded only 10 points in its first two games — the 59-0 shutout of FIU (see 4b.) and a 31-10 win over Notre Dame. (PSU beat Buffalo, 45-24, the next week.) Memo to CJF: I don’t think people are talking enough about this.
10a. BUY COACH K’S WHIMSY: A few weeks ago, Kotelnicki urged me to start an online movement to call Knowles “The Professor” and with every mention use #TheProfessor.
10b. BUY PRY, THEN: In the Franklin Era, the best start by a Penn State defense came in 2017 when the Nittany Lions, guided by DC Brent Pry, now head coach at Virginia Tech, yielded only 14 points in its first three games — 52-0 vs. Akron, 33-14 vs. Pitt and 56-0 vs. Georgia State.
10c. BUY THE 1947 PSU D. You have to go back to the legendary 1947 Nittany Lions for a better three-game start for the PSU defense than 2017. That season, which ended in a 13-13 tie with No. 3 SMU in the Cotton Bowl, saw the first three games go this way, with Penn State giving up just six points: a 27-6 win over Washington State at Hersheypark Stadium; a 54-0 win over Bucknell; and a 75-0 victory over Fordham. Make that six points in four weeks: The Nittany defeated Syracuse, 40-0, in Week 4.
