The Obligatory PSU Podcast

Happy Valley is ready for a family reunion. After an impossibly long layover nobody could have foreseen when the 2019 Nittany Lions closed out their home schedule with a win over Rutgers on Senior Day, the Greatest Show in College Football returns to Beaver Stadium this Saturday (and the next three to follow). The spirit of the Valley will be felt again in the Downtown on Friday afternoon. The tailgating fields will fill up early on the morning of gameday. The student section will be rocking with the energy that sustains campus and community. And fans of a certain age will grudgingly figure out how "Apple Wallet" works on their way into the stadium. Handling this episode on their own, Chris and Kevin (on the road back from the Baseball Hall of Fame inductions in Cooperstown, NY) wax poetic about the return of fans and the accompanying home game atmosphere, ponder the necessity of virtual tickets and numbered lots, and talk through the game scenarios for Penn State's matchup with an experienced Ball State team looking to play spoiler after its MAC Championship season in 2020.

HOSTED BY: Kevin Horne, Chris Buchignani

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 alumni to analyze the Nittany Lions roster in two installments, in this case the defense. As with our offensive preview, regular contributor Mike Levine returns alongside Villanova Athletics and Big East Network broadcaster Nick Mantegna, reuniting a student radio broadcast team 20 years after they brought their half dozen listeners such unforgettable gems as Joe Paterno's record-breaking 324th career win versus Ohio State and such forgettable disappointments as most other games in the 2001 season.

Joe often said that quarterbacks receive too much credit when the team is winning and too much blame when the team is losing. In this era of unprecedented point-scoring in college football, that disproportionate ratio extends to the entire offense. It has perhaps provided a smokescreen for Brent Pry's defense, which has quietly failed in key situations when State faltered over the past few seasons and then totally cratered during the team's infamous losing streak to start last year. There are bright spots to suggest an impending reversal, to be sure, with the arrival of potentially-impactful new additions through the transfer portal, a secondary stocked with pro-caliber talent, and a few linebackers who appear poised to turn the corner. Will it be enough to offset attrition, injury, and inexperience along the all-important defensive line? Chris and our ringers explore this question and more as they scrutinize Penn State's talent on the defensive side of the ball.

HOSTED BY: Chris Buchignani

GUESTS: Mike Levine, Nick Mantegna

Some technical issues held up release of this latest episode, recorded literally as the first news of the Big Ten season's cancellation reached the public. The late-breaking news fit perfectly, however, with the knowledge and background of previously-scheduled guest Dr. Scott Kretchmar, a distinguished Penn State emeritus professor of Kinesiology. Dr. Kretchmar reacts to the prospect of a Fall without football in Happy Valley and beyond alongside Chris, Noble, and Mailman, offering perspective on what it may mean from numerous angles, including that of the fans. The conversation then shifts to the changing landscape of college athletics and the potential for a sea change on the heels of a crazy 2020. Specifically, the panel digs into the #WeAreUnited PAC-12 Players Tribune letter. Scott offers the benefit of his academic background and years representing Penn State's faculty to the NCAA, while Brandon gets fired up defending the value of the college football experience.

Dr. R. Scott Kretchmar, a retired professor and former chair in Penn State's Department of Kinesiology, is one of the leading sports philosophers in the country. He is a founding member and former president of the Philosophic Society for the Study of Sport and past president of the Philosophic Academy of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education and American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education. He has published several books and papers and been recognized with numerous awards throughout his career. He also served as Penn State's faculty representative to the NCAA for many years.

HOSTED BY: Brandon Noble, Mike Herr, Chris Buchignani

GUEST: Dr. R. Scott Kretchmar

Always a welcome guest on any Obligatory property, Penn State's resident professor of “Booze and Culture” Dr. Kirk French, who was recently honored as one of six University-wide recipients of the George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching (despite his association with our show!), rejoins the show to talk about wrapping up the semester and adapting his recent documentary film release in the time of COVID-19. Many of us are finding the time to reconnect with old friends, and the guys are no exception. After years of goofing around with Brandon, Kevin, Chris, and Mailman, Kirk is pretty much an honorary member of the cast, so when they were all able to (virtually) reunite, the conversation quickly and unsurprisingly sprawled out all over the place, from the spike in sales of locally-sourced liquor to an anthropologist's view of quarantine culture. Here's hoping these deep digressions offer some thoughtful escapism from troubling times. Stay safe! #WeAre

Check out Kirk's last appearance on the podcast: https://share.transistor.fm/s/1a03940c

HOSTED BY: Brandon Noble, Mike Herr, Kevin Horne, Chris Buchignani

GUEST: Kirk French

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 year and sandwiched between two nothing opponents, it appeared neither useful for recovery nor as preparation for a big game. As it turns out, we were probably wrong about that. After a difficult outing against Bowling Green revealed the flaws of a team breaking in three new coordinators and a key player, leader, and team captain in K.J. Winston was bitten by the injury bug, the early off-week now feels like a Godsend for the team to retool and regroup. Not so for those us in the media world however. With only two games in the books, both of which have already been analyzed to death, filling time becomes a challenge. We'll do our best though!

Grab your pencil and your paper, it's the Obligatory PSU Podcast.

HOSTED BY: Brandon Noble, Mike "The Mailman" Herr, Kevin Horne, Chris Buchignani