History of PSU and OSU Football Rivalry

By:Hunter Kraynak

When most people think of a bitter rivalry in sports, one of the first rivalries that comes to mind is the Penn State vs Ohio State football rivalry. One of the things that most people don’t know about the rivalry though is why they are bitter rivals and where the rivalry started.

Via an article by Jeanna Thomas,it all started back in 1980, which wasn’t the first time the Nittany Lions and the Buckeyes have faced off (the first time was in 1912). In that year the Nittany Lions met the Buckeyes in the Fiesta Bowl, and this game was a thriller performance by both teams. Ohio State was in the Big 10 at the time of this game but Penn State would stay in the independent conference until 1993. In this game, though, the Buckeyes had their passing attack going with quarterback Art Schlichter’s stat line being 20 for 35 on completions for 302 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. This effort though couldn’t outmatch the Nittany Lions’ rushing game with the Lions turning in a 351 rushing yard stat line. In this matchup, the Nittany Lions beat the Buckeyes 31-19.

Though the Fiesta Bowl was a brutal matchup, there have been many other great matchups. For instance, in 2014, Ohio State defeated Penn State in double overtime 31-24. In this matchup, the Buckeyes took a 17-0 lead but the Nittany Lions weren’t done yet, bringing the game to within three points nearing the final minutes. With nine seconds left, the Nittany Lions were able to tie it up with a field goal sending them into overtime. In overtime, the battle continued with both teams scoring a touchdown in the first overtime. The second overtime however is where the Nittany Lions fell apart. They allowed a JT Barrett rushing touchdown to end the game in Ohio State’s favor.

An excerpt from an article by gopsusports.com states the following: Just two years later in 2016, Penn State would shock OSU and PSU fans around the globe. In this matchup, the unranked Nittany Lions led by coach James Franklin took on the number 2 ranked Buckeyes led by coach Urban Meyer. In this game, Ohio State was red hot with quarterback JT Barrett throwing for 245 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 26 yards. This however didn’t discourage Penn State; it instead motivated them. Penn State's defense then stepped up to the plate allowing their offense to work. Trace McSorely and Saqaun Barkley then went to work with them both finishing with over 60 rushing yards each. McSorely also had one rushing and passing touchdown. Neither the defense or offense contributed as much as Penn State's special teams. The special teams blocked both a punt and field goal. This caused the unranked Nittany Lions to upset the number 2 Buckeyes 21-24. This game will go down in history as the, “game that put Penn State on the map.”

According to records from ESPN and OhioStateBuckeyes.com, Ohio State has won almost every game in the series, with an overall record against Penn State being 22-13. Though this year, Penn State has a decent chance of winning. This year so far the only three teams who are not undefeated in the Big 10 East are Indiana, Ohio State and Rutgers. Penn State going into this week is ranked number 4 on the AP (Associated Press) poll, meanwhile, Ohio State is ranked number 11. These two won’t meet though until October 30, 2021, at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

Tom Brady : The GOAT

By : Hunter Kraynak

If you ask most people in the U.S. if they can name a NFL player, I'm sure most can name at least one. One of the main names that comes up during the conversation is Tom Brady. Everyone knows who Tom Brady is but what most people don’t know is where the 7-time Super Bowl champion came from.

According to notablebiography.com, Thomas Edward Patrick Brady, Jr. was born on August 3, 1977, in San Mateo, California. Throughout his childhood, Tom grew up in a competitive household. Though Tom grew up with three sisters they were highly competitive. His sisters Maureen, Nancy, and Julie played every sport they could and Tom was there to cheer them on. Tom’s first organized football season would be his freshman season at Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo, CA. His first start though would come till he was a junior in which he threw for 31 touchdowns. Tom however was also a star catcher for his school's baseball team. He was so good in fact that he was drafted to play catcher by the Montreal Expos. Instead, he went and played football at the University of Michigan. It wasn’t again until his junior year at Michigan that he got the starting job. He would go on to set many records at Michigan. Tom would also lead the Wolverines to a Citrus Bowl victory in 1999.

According to si.com, upon Tom’s graduation from Michigan he was taken late in the 2000 NFL draft. To be exact he was taken 199th in the 6th round. To put the past number into perspective there are only 254 picks in the NFL draft. Tom was not deemed athletic by many; in fact he ran a 5.28 second 40 yard dash, which is the second slowest 40 yard dash for a quarterback. Even though this was a poor performance, Bill Belichick, Patriots head coach decided to take a chance. Tom would only go on to play in one game his first season and served as backup quarterback to Drew Bledsoe. The next season however things shifted in Tom’s favor and with starting quarterback Bledsoe going down to injury, it was Tom's time to shine. That season no one could doubt him. In just the 14 regular season games he played, he had an 11-3 record going into the playoffs. Tom and the Patriots were able to make it all the way to the Super Bowl in 2001. In the Super Bowl Tom played amazing and the New England Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams 20-17. This would be the first of many Super Bowl wins for Tom. Two years later Tom would lead the Patriots to another Super Bowl win over the Carolina Panthers. If you thought this was it from Tom think again because the next year they won the Super Bowl again, this time defeating the Philadelphia Eagles. The next two times they were in the Super Bowl it didn’t go their way. Both would be losses to the New York Giants led by Eli Manning. It wouldn’t come again until 2015 when cornerback Malcolm Butler picked off Russell Wilson on the goal line to seal the Patriots win over the Seahawks 28-24.Then in the 2017 Super Bowl, Brady and the Patriots were trailing 28-3 against the Atlanta Falcons. This is when Tom led an amazing comeback and the Patriots won in overtime. The next time Brady would win would be the 2019 Super Bowl vs. the Los Angeles Rams. In this game, neither team could score and the Patriots won 13-3. Then the next year, things didn’t go the Patriots’ way and Brady and the Patriots lost in the wildcard playoff round to the Tennessee Titans. Brady would then announce that he would be leaving New England and going somewhere else. Brady signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and started the next chapter of his football career. In just his first season with the Buccaneers, Brady won another Super Bowl against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.

Brady is still playing to this day at age 45. Brady holds the NFL records for most Super Bowl wins with 7. Tom Brady is one of those generational talents, and if you get the chance to watch him you should. Will Tom ever win another Super Bowl? I guess the only way to know is through time.

Back in 2018 the Texas A&M Aggies battled the LSU Tigers in a seven overtime battle.The final score after seven overtimes was 74-72 in Texas A&M’s favor.After that game I didn’t think we would ever see two NCAA teams go into a longer overtime.Like most things though I was wrong.I wouldn’t be wrong though until October 23, 2021 at Penn State’s homecoming game.

On October 23, 2021 the Penn State Nittany Lions would face off against the Illinois FIghting Illini.Before this game the Nittany Lions were sitting at 5-1 after a loss two weeks earlier to Iowa.The Fighting Illini would come into the game at 2-5 after a shutout loss to Wisconsin two weeks earlier.The stakes were higher than ever seeing as it was Penn State’s homecoming game.

Penn State would kickoff to start off the game.In the first couple minutes of the game the Fighting Illini would get great field position after a pass interference call against Penn State.Though the Fighting Illini were off to a hot start, this ended when Penn State picked off Illinois’ quarterback.The first score of the game though wouldn’t come until 10 seconds in the first quarter.Penn State's quarterback threw a perfect pass putting Penn State up 7-0 to start the second quarter.The Fighting Illini couldn’t get anything going for them and the Penn State defense took advantage.The defense forced a fumble setting the offense up in a good position to score.The offense would capitalize scoring a field goal to go up 10-0 in the second quarter.Illinois would then take a long drive but ultimately ended up scoring with little time left in the second quarter.This made the score 10-7 with Penn State still leading before half.After halftime, Penn State’s defense would force a fumble setting up the offense in another good position.The offense couldn’t move the ball and Penn State tried a field goal attempt.This wouldn’t work out with the kicker missing wide right and leaving the score 10-7 Penn State.Illinois didn’t miss a beat and drove down the field before trying a field goal.Their field goal attempt would miss and leave the score 10-7 Penn State.The next time Illinois got the ball they would drive down the field and kick the game tying field goal with 11:49 left in the fourth quarter.The rest of the fourth quarter would be scoreless sending the game into overtime with the score being 10-10.

In overtime both teams would score a field goal sending the game into the second overtime with the score 13-13.In the second overtime they would trade off field goals again sending the game into the third overtime.The game would remain tied until the eighth overtime when both teams scored two points to make the score 18-18.The 9th overtime came around and the Fighting Illini would win 20-18.This was the new NCAA record for most overtimes in a college football game.

Image Credits : OnwardState.com

26 Year World Series Drought Ended

By: Hunter Kraynak

This World Series was a crazy one. That is an understatement; this win for the Atlanta Braves is their first World Series win in 26 years. The last time they won was the 1995 World Series where they defeated the Cleveland Indians in a six game series.

According to pitcherslist.com, in just August the Braves had a losing record sitting at 52-54 on the year. Even worse, the Braves lost their star center fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. earlier in July to an ACL tear. The future was looking grim for the Atlanta Braves and for them to reach October they would need a miracle. That's when the Braves caught fire and won eight of their next ten games. The lineup was firing on all cylinders and Braves fans couldn’t be happier. They would go on to make the NLDS where they would play the Milwaukee Brewers who they were 3-3 against on the year. The Braves would have no trouble taking down the Brewers. They won three in just four games sending the Brewers back to Milwaukee. Their next task wouldn’t be easy though they had to play the Dodgers, one of the most powerful teams in baseball. The Dodgers dominated the Braves in the regular season, defeating the Braves four times in the six games they played. Atlanta would have no problem taking down the Dodgers in six games, winning four and losing two. They would advance to the World Series.

In the World Series, the Braves would take on one of the most hated teams in baseball, the Houston Astros. The Astros are one of the most hated because of their cheating methods in the 2017 World Series against the Dodgers. The Astros were caught stealing the catcher's sign allowing them to know what pitch was coming. The Braves would be America’s favorite team in this matchup. The Braves came out ready to play, winning the first game by four runs in a 6-2 game. The next night however the Astros would come ready to play winning 7-2 and tying the series at one game a piece. Both teams would receive the next night off to prepare for game three. Game three would roll around and there would only be two runs scored the whole game. The Braves would win this one 2-0 moving up to 2-1 on the series. In game four the Braves would sneak out the win by one point, winning 3-2. Now the Braves were only one win away from their first World Series in 26 years. Game five would be a shootout ending in an Astro's victory 7-5, sending the series into game six. In game six, the Braves ended it by putting up seven and allowing zero. The Atlanta Braves were now the 2021 World Series Champions. Jorge Soler would win World Series MVP after hitting three home runs in the six game series.