The Obligatory PSU Podcast

Welcome the podcast's Fall 2025 sponsor: Gold Hen   *Use promo code MAILMAN at checkout The roster has never been deeper or more talented. The vibes have never been more positive. According to James Franklin, the alignment with administration and support from boosters has never been better. In Franklin's tenure, entering its 12th year, the expectations have never been greater, and that means the s...

As with our Fall roster breakdowns, Chris enlists the assistance of fellow LION 90.7fm alum, former FIU and Miami Hurricanes broadcaster Mike Levine, to analyze the Nittany Lions' current complement of talent as Spring football comes to a close and yet another "transfer portal window" lurches toward merciful closure. With a lengthy list of returning stars, much is certain about the title-contendin...

Grab your pencil and your paper. We take one last, lingering look back at 2024, in all its glory and heartbreak, before turning our attention to a new season brimming with promise, as another Blue-White weekend ushers in a Summer of hope. HOSTED BY: Brandon Noble , Mike "The Mailman" Herr , Kevin Horne , Chris Buchignani

BREAKING NEWS, BONUS CONTENT! James Franklin and Pat Kraft swung for the fences and made contact. Chris and Brandon give their snap reactions to Penn State's tectonic move to break the bank and poach Jim Knowles from the defending champion Ohio State Buckeyes to becomes the new Nittany Lions defensive coordinator. Full podcast to follow soon. Watch on For The Blogy's YouTube: https://youtu.be/wV9I...

A sad fact of sports fandom is that most seasons end in disappointment. The higher you scale the ladder of anticipation, the harder the crash if you falter, and it is also an unfortunate truth that the pain of some losses can cut so deep and last so long that it crowds the many happy memories of the wins that came before. The Nittany Lions ended their historic 2024 campaign snatching misery from t...

The NIL Era giveth, and it taketh away. On the veritable eve of the first-ever playoff game in Beaver Stadium, Penn State fans were hit with the double-whammy of two quarterback-related bombshells. While public confirmation of Drew Allar's long-rumored return for next season has fans and portal wideouts alike buzzing with excitement for 2025, that enthusiasm is tempered by the resulting departure...

The Obligatory Cinematic Universe expands with a blockbuster crossover event as the gang gets back in the podcasting saddle. Noble, Kevin, and Chris team up with Steve Garguilo and Tim Buckley of the Let's Talk Penn State Podcast (like The Avengers, but with idiots). Enjoy this "meeting of the minds" and perspective on the state of the program heading into the Maryland game. The regular gang retur...

A video released by Penn State's Athletic Department after the famous 2016 Ohio State game that kick-started the program's revival from the sanction era showed Coach Franklin exhorting his team at halftime: "Opportunity is knocking." Eight years and zero wins over the Buckeyes later, opportunity is knocking again. This weekend, everything and the kitchen sink from the world of college football con...

They called it a trap game. They said the Nittany Lions were vulnerable. They questioned our offense and dismissed our defense. But when the lights came on at Camp Randall, both units - each of them thriving in their own way this season under new coordinators - played complementary football, containing, and eventually bludgeoning, the Badgers. Even an injury at the most important position on the f...

James Franklin and the Nittany Lions got the coveted, elusive, statement-making win they so desperately needed by defeating USC... or so it seemed. The Trojans' College Park Collapse over Penn State's Bye Week underscored the point that if the program is to make its first appearance in the college football playoff, then the team must keep stacking wins as the favorite. Another challenging road tes...

It may take an extra bus trip to Harrisburg to get there, but the road date everybody circled on Penn State's 2024 schedule is finally upon us. Conference expansion has delivered the first-ever meeting of the Nittany Lions and Trojans as Big Ten foes, and even though USC's upset loss at the hands of Minnesota drained the contest of much of its fanfare, the stakes for Old State are unchanged. As to...

Well, "Bert" asked, and Nittany Nation answered. Penn State fans and media may have taken some liberties with the context around Bret Bielema's, "White Out Energy, whatever the hell that means," quotation, up to and including a passive-aggressive screening of a carefully-edited clip of it on the Beaver Stadium Jumbotron before kickoff. But find your fuel, right? When the Lions most needed their su...

One mild upset in Lincoln and suddenly Penn State's Homecoming is set up for clash of nationally-ranked unbeatens under the Beaver Stadium lights that has fans calling for an impromtu and unofficial second "White Out" - a game that will surely have national viewers tuning in during the Georgia/Alabama commercial breaks. The University is also set to recognize the 1994 Big Ten Champion Nittany Lion...

During the dull offseason months when football-starved fans obsess over such things, many observers noted a conspicuous flaw in the final version of Penn State's 2024 schedule (not to be confused with the several other interim versions that came and went thanks to the ever-expanding ranks of the Big Ten). A bye week in only the third week of the season seemed less than ideal - too early in the yea...

In retrospect, perhaps it was inevitable: the season-opening road trip, the convincing win over a team and fanbase that talked a big game and couldn't back it up, the sleepy noon kickoff time, the unintimidating competition. Each of these factors combined to render all of Penn State, from the players and coaches on the field to their loyal supporters in the stands, completely unprepared for the co...

College football is back in all its glory, and for Penn State and many other would-be contenders across America, the rites of Fall have been renewed. The Nittany Lions began the journey of 2024 on the road for a statement game that told everyone from the legions of ludicrously overconfident Mountaineer fans to the doubting Thomases on this very program to the likes of Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, and...

Once again Chris is joined by fellow LION 90.7fm alum, former FIU and Miami Hurricanes broadcaster Mike Levine, to analyze the Nittany Lions roster in two installments, this time turning to the defense. Like the their counterparts on offense, the 2024 Nittany Lions D will be guided by a new coordinator, former Indiana head coach Tom Allen, who will be charged with continuing the tradition of great...

Per Obligatory tradition, one of our most popular features returns: the Penn State football preview in which Chris enlists the assistance of fellow LION 90.7fm alum, former FIU and Miami Hurricanes broadcaster Mike Levine, to analyze the Nittany Lions roster in two installments, beginning with the offense. As undergrads, they brought their half dozen listeners such unforgettable gems as Joe Patern...

On the cusp of another season of Nittany Lions football, the guys get together to discuss their dreams, aspirations, and fears for this year's team. Can new coordinators Andy Kotelnicki and Tom Allen bring the fresh perspective that jolts this squad into a higher gear? Will the talented depth so meticulously stockpiled through recruiting bear fruit? Has Drew Allar maximized the offseason to progre...

From the 12-team playoff to the "green dot," the 2024 college football season promises plenty of changes, large and small. As Penn State's opening kickoff in Morgantown approaches, the guys pause to reflect on all the newness coming to the sport this year and speculate about how it all might turn out. They share plenty of (occasionally insightful) thoughts on Year One for the expanded playoff, new...

Are you frustrated because the Nittany Lions appear to be losing out on recruits, at home in PA and across the country, because Old State can't seem to meet their lofty financial demands? Are you confused because even though we're nearly half a decade into the "NIL era," it still makes very little sense to you? Are you disappointed because you sense that Penn State's shortcomings in the NIL space...

Hey folks. Great news (maybe). If you’re reading this, it’s probably at least good news: The most lovable, least reliable Penn State podcast on earth is back, and this our promise to you - we’ll be here for every week, at least once per week, from now until at least the end of the calendar year, all thanks to the support of the awesome folks at ForTheBlogy.com , the website and YouTube channe l th...

Penn State wrapped up another 10-2 regular season that was, yes, in some respects a failure - a failure to achieve the lofty goals that were set justifiably high at the season's outset - but also represents a rarified outcome among all Power 5 programs. The guys look back on the how the 2023 campaign ended and discuss the future for the Nittany Lions and all of college football as we head into Cha...

What more can you say? We try to come up with something. The guys wrap up the Michigan win over Penn State that slammed on the door on the Nittany Lions' hopes for making the four-team playoff before the format is retired at the end of this season. Could fan favorite Joe Moorhead return to Happy Valley? Will Penn State be in the market for a new defensive coordinator as well? Can Rutger give the L...

For the second time in four weeks, James Franklin and the Nittany Lions are facing one of the biggest games in recent program history. This time, they will play in the welcoming environs of Beaver Stadium and carry the hopes, not just of Nittany Nation, but the entire nation, with them. Can Penn State - America's Team for this one week - play the scrappy underdog hero to Michigan's 80's teen movie...