NCAA Football

On their weekly Penn State football podcast, host Adam Bittner welcomes Post-Gazette/Daily Collegian Nittany Lions insider Joel Haas to preview the College Football Playoff first-round matchup with SMU on Saturday at Beaver Stadium. Is this Drew Allar's big chance to show a big audience what he can do in a do-or-die moment? Have he and coach James Franklin been slept on because casual fans only see them fail in big games? Was Allar's announced return in 2025 a surprise? Or a smart move for his NFL draft stock? And how will the rest of the quarterback room fill out behind him, with Ethan Grunkemeyer and Jaxon Smolik vying to replace transfer Beau Pribula as the No. 2 guy?

Our duo tackles those questions and more, including: How much can transfer portal addition Kyron Hudson help the weak wide receiver corps next season? Could former USC Trojans teammates Zachariah and Zion Branch join him in Happpy Valley? Could Penn State see other key players like Abdul Carter, Kaytron Allen or Nick Singleton return next season? How does the PSU defense match up with SMU stars like QB Kevin Jennings, RB Brashard Smith and WRs Roderick Daniels Jr. and Key'Shawn Smith? Does the men's basketball team have March Madness potential after receiving AP poll votes this week? And what are the women's volleyball tam's chances to stop rival Pitt from winning a national title this week?