newyorkwolverine.com

First things first: Penn State fired James Franklin on Sunday, following the Nittany Lions’ 22-21 loss to Northwestern. Franklin revitalized the  program, but the bar at Penn State will always be very high. Many people thought Penn State had a legitimate chance to win the National Championship this season. Instead, the Nittany Lions are searching for a coach. 

There are a lot of names being thrown around. Curt Cignetti. Matt Rhule. Matt Campbell. Brent Key. And that’s just to hame a few. 

Simply put, this is an important hire for the Penn State program. Expectations are always high in Happy Valley. The team needs a spark. What better way than to use a Candle? 

In this case, Jason Candle, who coaches Toledo and graduated from Mount Union. Look at that second portion. Mount Union has become the modern “cradle of coaches;” seizing that mantle from Miami of Ohio. Candle previously coached with Campbell twice, and has served as Toledo’s head coach since 2016, amassing a record of 76-43. He’s led Toledo to two 11-win seasons over that time. As a native of Ohio, he can recruit both Pennsylvania and Ohio well. He also has plenty of players from Florida on his roster. 

Is that a guarantee that he’s the answer to Penn State’s hopes and dreams? No, but he has all the qualifications. At 45, he’s young enough to handle the rigors of a Big Ten season. 

I split three games this past weekend. I got one right and one wrong, while a third ended as a push. Not great, but not bad, either. 

*-𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴. 

Alabama 28, Missouri 24 (A -3; O/U: 51.5)

𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐁𝐀𝐌𝐀 𝟐𝟕, 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢 𝟐𝟒 (𝐩𝐮𝐬𝐡)

Hawaii 30, Utah State 27 (H -1.5; O/U: 58.5)

𝐇𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐈𝐈 𝟒𝟒, 𝐔𝐭𝐚𝐡 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝟐𝟔 (𝐰𝐢𝐧)

Iowa State 27, Colorado 23 (ISU -3; O/U: 51.5)

𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐎 𝟐𝟒, 𝐈𝐨𝐰𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝟏𝟕 (𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐬)

(1 win, 1 loss, 1 push.)

(Season record, 12 wins, 11 losses, 1 push. .521 winning percentage)