Brandywine’s Men’s Soccer Full of Life After Much Needed First Win

David Brown, Lion’s Eye Staff Writer, dvb5451@psu.edu

Starting the season 0-3, Brandywine’s Men’s Soccer looked to prove they still have winning expectations.

The first match playing Cabrini College was a close one, ending at a 3-1 win for Cabrini. After an early score, Cabrini put one in the back of the net for the lead. In the second half, Cabrini again scored, making it 2-0 with Brandywine on their heels. Answering back, #26, Nick Abhulimen scored in the box, cutting the lead 2-1. Only four minutes later Cabrini scored to advance their lead and eventually win 3-1.

Cabrini out-shot Brandywine 22-13, highlighting Brandywine goalkeeper, Pat O’Neill’s solid performance with five saves.

After that close match between Cabrini College and our Nittany Lions, the men’s team was defeated by both Washington Adventist University (0-3), and West Virginia Tech (0-9), getting out-scored 0-12, putting the struggling Lions in desperation for a win.

On the road, Penn State Brandywine would face the University of Valley Forge—looking to get their first win of the season.

The first twelve minutes of the match, Brandywine and Valley Forge came out hot, shooting six times with saves by both goalkeepers. Finally, in the thirteenth minute, #9, freshman Dan Tyler shot one past goalkeeper Alan Vera for his first goal as a Nittany Lion, and to take the lead 1-0 over Valley Forge.

Leaving the first half, Brandywine led 1-0 and looked to take more of a lead heading into the second half. Only two minutes into the second half, Valley Forge would draw the match at 1-1 for the time being.

With many shots from Brandywine’s #9 Dan Tyler and #14 Mannie Amine, they were able to assist #12 freshman Josh Burton to once again take the lead for the lions in the 55th minute.

After multiple substitutions and fouls by both teams, Brandywine and Valley Forge battled for 20 minutes until the final blow from #17 freshman Fornodson Pierre clinching the victory over Valley Forge 3-1 in favor of Brandywine.

Freshman Dan Tyler led the Nittany Lions with one goal and two assists, with Josh Burton and Fernodson Pierre with a goal each for their first collegiate goals for the Lions. Goalkeeper Pat O’Neill managed to stop both shots he faced early in the match, and freshman goalkeeper Joe Opdenaker was able to finish the match with four saves in the last 45 minutes.

This victory was much needed for the Lions and they hope to carry this new momentum into their upcoming matches.

Lion’s Eye Staff Writer

David Brown, dvb5451@psu.edu

 

Welcome Newcomers

Out with the old, in with the new.

Welcoming the freshman class of 2019, Brandywine was all about making them feel at home. Tons of festivities took place around campus, from reptile excursions to game shows. There was even a live reggae band sharing some of their traditional food and music with us.

The first year of college can be overwhelming to freshman because of the new curriculum they are about to experience. Brandywine put together a special week just for the freshman so they could feel at home.

On their first day of college, the freshman were excited for the delicious island food at the welcome back BBQ, where they caught a break from their classes. A long line of hungry students waited for the curry chicken and white rice, beef patties and jerk chicken. Many danced around to the reggae band, putting their own culture twist on the famous song, Earned It from the movie 50 Shades of Grey.

Looking around one could see everybody was in a good mood, catching up with friends, and some even making new ones. Even though it was uncomfortably hot outside, everyone was distracted by the fun they were having.

On Tuesday, August 25, the Think Fast game show took place in Commons. This was another campus activity that received a lot of freshman participation.

“I thought the game show we had here on campus was very entertaining and I learned a lot about different actors, music and even the world,” freshman accounting major Sabria Williams said.

There was a $200 cash prize for the winner at the end of the game.

“No I didn’t participate because of the prize, but knowing what the prize was made me more engaged in the game,” Williams said.

There were other students who looked like they still enjoyed the game even though they didn’t win the prize either.

By Friday afternoon, it was a beautiful day but campus was really quiet. Brandywine had a lot to offer for our incoming freshmen during welcome week.

Now that the fun is over, it’s time to get focused and worry about maintaining those “A” grades. Good luck!

 

Lion’s Eye Staff Writer

Deja Footes, dmf5475@psu.edu

Brandywine Students Attend Nittany Lions Football Season Opener

The one tagline that Penn State University uses on many occasions is “We are one university, geographically dispersed,” and one of the few things that unites all the campuses outside of academics more than anything is the Nittany Lions football team.

This fact was highlighted on September 5, when the Nittany Lions opened the 2015 football season at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia to take on the Temple Owls. And because of the stadium’s close vicinity to the Brandywine campus, Penn State Brandywine’s office of Student Affairs gave students the opportunity to see the season opener in person.

Needless to say, Brandywine students were excited to attend the game, many of whom had never been to a Penn State Football game.

“I was super excited because it was my first game,” Gene Cabrera, a Brandywine sophomore, said. “I enjoyed the day since I went with my dad and it was our first game ever!”

Since 1941, the Nittany Lions had dominated the Owls, winning every match-up between the two over those 75 years. With that fact and it being the first season since 2011 that the Nittany Lions were not under scholarship sanctions from the Sandusky scandal, expectations were high for Penn State.

“I honestly went into the game expecting Penn State to win like they did so many times before,” senior Tom O’Donnell said.

Because of Penn State’s large following throughout the state, the stadium was packed with as much, if not more, visiting PSU blue & white than the Temple red. The famous “We Are” chants could be heard ringing through the stadium. This was a fact Brandywine students noticed and thoroughly enjoyed.

“It was really amazing,” sophomore Derek Osborn said. “There were points throughout the game that the Penn State fans, the away team, were louder than the Temple fans; the energy was incredible.”

Unfortunately for the Nittany Lions, the streak that had covered the majority of the twentieth century and into this millennium, was ended as the Owls beat the Nittany Lions to the score of 27-10, putting the Nittany Lions at 0-1 to start the season.

After scoring 10 points in the first, the Lions went silent as the offensive line allowed 10 sacks on Christian Hackenberg and made it impossible to score. The defense held it together for most of the game, until late in the game when the Owls exploded on the scoreboard.

“The defense was mostly good for most of the time but the offense just wasn’t there when we needed it,” sophomore Coleman Hart said.

Despite the historic loss, the pride in the school was unwavering from Brandywine as they were chanting and cheering until the closing moments of the game.

“The outcome of the game was depressing, but it does not affect my pride for our school,” senior Anna Toshtzar said, adding a nice “WE ARE” cheer to the end of it.

It’s hard to take away any positives on the field after the embarrassing loss, and yet despite the lackluster performance, students from the Brandywine campus and Penn State fans all over still have immense pride in their school and are very happy to have their beloved Nittany Lions back on the field for yet another year of football.

Lion’s Eye Staff Editor

Paul Alberici, paa5102@psu.edu

Ambush at the Linc

The Nittany Lions were a part of history in their opening game against their in-state rivals the Temple Owls, but it wasn’t history that made Penn State students and alumni proud to be fans of the team.

For the first time since 1941, Penn State lost to Temple in a 27-10 rout in front of a record crowd of 69,176 at the Eagles Nest, Lincoln Financial Field (just the second sold attendance for an Owls game at the Linc).

The game had started out as expected for the favored Lions as they jumped out to an early 10-0 lead in the first quarter featuring a 42 yard touchdown run by running back Akeel Lynch. As it progressed however, Penn State’s offense stalled and momentum began to shift near halftime. Temple cut the lead to 10-7 on a one-yard touchdown run by running back Jamad Thomas. Then they tied the game midway through the third quarter with a field goal, and on Penn State’s next possession, quarterback Christian Hackenberg made a mistake that opened the floodgates. He threw an interception deep in Penn State territory to linebacker Sharif Finch and returned the ball 26 yards to the two-yard line. Temple then took the lead with a quarterback sneak by PJ Walker, making it 17-10, and the momentum was on their side at the start of the fourth quarter. Hackenberg, along with the rest of Penn State’s offense, struggled to make any plays throughout the game as he was sacked a whopping ten times and was pressured for most of the snaps taken.

Their total yards for the last three quarters were an abysmal 34 as well. The junior running back Jamad Thomas had another touchdown run in the fourth quarter to extend the Owls lead to 24-10 and was, by far, the best offensive performer in the game. The best defensive performer was Temple linebacker Tyler Matakevich who recorded three of the Owls 10 sacks. And a 30-yard field goal made with 5 minutes left in the game added insurance and sealed one of the biggest victories in the history of Temple’s football program.

“First thing, we have to give Temple and Coach [Matt] Rhule credit,” Penn State Head Coach James Franklin said. “They played extremely well. They dominated the front on each side of the ball. Their offensive line played well against our defensive line. The zone-read gave us some problems. Obviously, the sacks are an issue.”

This historic loss, 74 years and 39 previous matchups in the making, goes down as the worst defeat of the James Franklin Era, and a poor start to a season that followed a thrilling Bowl Victory over Boston College at Yankee Stadium last year. This game is an indicator that either Franklin and company have to reevaluate their game plan, or that the Temple Owls are a more compatible team then everyone thought.

The Nittany Lions moved on from this disaster by literally burying the game tape with a shovel on the practice field. Penn State has rebounded well, having since won four straight.

Lion’s Eye Staff Writer

Michael McCarrick, mqm5415@psu.edu, Lion’s Eye Staff Writer (since updated by Lion’s Eye Web Staff)

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Getting Involved on Campus

On Wednesday, September 2, Penn State Brandywine hosted its annual Student Involvement Fair on Common Paths to kick-start the new semester.

This event is a student favorite, as it showcases the organizations the campus has to offer and gives students the opportunity to start their own clubs. This year, organizers say the fair was a massive success with more than 40 organizations represented to make students aware of the vast variety of clubs available to them.

Behind the scenes helping the event come together is Stephanie Jones, the Associate Director of Student Affairs at Brandywine. This is Jones’ third Involvement Fair, and she worked to make it a fun experience for those who attended.

“This semester we tried something a little different and reached out to a few local agencies to see if they were interested in participating,” Jones said. “This gave students the opportunity to also get involved with the local community. This year we had the Delaware County SPCA, Tyler Arboretum, Coatsville Kids to College, Rocky Run Volunteer Fire Company, City Team and the Delaware County Public Transportation Management Authority.”

Over the years, it is additions like these that make students excited about the fair and want to get involved. According to Jones, this semester’s Involvement Fair was the most popular one to date, especially when it came to students starting their own clubs.

“We had some new groups express interest in becoming an active student organization including yoga club, app club, veteran’s club, black student league, self defense club and the Latino club,” said Jones.

Established groups on campus benefit from the Involvement Fair as much as newcomers. With more than a hundred new sign ups and the opportunity to raise awareness for great causes, the fair truly makes a difference, according to Liz Gramlich, the President of Brandywine Benefitting THON.

“It completely rebuilds our team for the year,” Gramlich said. “Without it we would not have nearly as many people involved. This year we were also able to do an awareness activity, which really got the word out.”

Whether you’re joining an existing organization or creating your own, the Involvement Fair is a great place to start. Being apart of something on campus provides students with a sense of community that helps make your time here all the more memorable. For more information on how you can get involved, stop by Student Affairs in Commons.

Lion’s Eye Staff Writer
Brooke Byrne, bzb5183@psu.edu

Student’s look forward to the promising future of technology

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Author: Kahri Jones, kjj5053@psu.eud

Students look forward to the promising future of technology

Technology is constantly shaping the world around us. It has changed the way we live our daily lives, for better or for worse. It has reinvented the way we interact with each other; it even allows you to be anywhere, virtually. It has even reshaped the way in which people date, i.e. eHarmony.

It has seamlessly integrated its way into our educational institutions. We are now in the information age. The Internet can easily shed light on any and every subject that you may be in the dark about.

With this accessible information, companies are have turned to social media marketing for even more specialized target audiences. With young infants growing up with tactile flashing screen tablets, older people, ages 55 to 64 years old, are amongst the fastest demographic adopting technology.

Mobile applications such as Swarm by Foursquare, Yelp and Open Table create new interactive experiences with cities. Sure, all of this is no big secret, but where is all this technology headed?

The Internet and technology will continue to progress, it has since the beginning.
It seems safe to say that technology’s direction will continue to make the world around us more efficient, and help offer a more personalized and tailored lifestyle. There are several emerging technological concepts and advancements in the horizon.

Wearable technology assisted by the Internet of things is on the forefront. Picking up where mobile technology left off, new innovation finds it way into smart clothes. Drones have gained recognition over the past few years. Some recall Amazon’s plans to incorporate these pilotless aircrafts to make home deliveries to online orders.

Amazon isn’t the only one to employ the use of a drone. Even Hollywood producers are rigging cameras to drones in order to shoot big budget films. Currently, the Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, has imposed harsh regulatory guidelines, which seems to only hinder the development of the Amazon Prime Air service. It is up to Amazon and other drone companies to reach an agreement with the FAA that will satisfy the public.

Freshman Stephanie Henderson approves of the air traffic fleeting service as long as her items are accurately and safely delivered.

“I can’t wait to be able to order anything and receive it the same day. I’m sure that all the bugs will be fixed before its commercial use,” Henderson said.

The novelty of new technology can often seemingly be mostly positive. There are some questions that are raised about possible implication that it may present.

Although 3D printing may appear as a manufacturing miracle, there are still some implications. The same tool that can assist a plastic surgeon in providing a prosthetic body part can also aid a criminal on the black market. The first 3D printed gun was recently fired. Many can see that 3D printing and its ability to create guns and other weapons pose a concern for the debate of gun laws.

Self-driving cars are expected to make its way into the automobile industry in the near future, with prototypes by BMW and even Google. BMW recently previewed its F 015 Luxury in Motion research car in Las Vegas.

The technology’s basis of automation is made possible by complex sensors and computer processing, which replaces the work of a human. People foresee additional productive free time during commutes and even the decline of automotive deaths.

One student nostalgically remembers a certain Nintendo gaming console from the 1990s.

“I’m excited to see today’s innovation of virtual reality gaming experience. I once had a Virtual Boy by Nintendo,” Frank Lipscomb juxtaposes video game design of the past and future. “It will seem primitive for the next generation of (video) gamers.”

Recent trends have seen companies return to their interest in virtual reality. We can only anticipate and wonder what Facebook has in mind for its users since acquiring Occulus Rift, a virtual reality company.

KINES class gives student a path to self awareness

Author: Kahri Jones, kjj5053@psu.edu

At Brandywine, KINES 47 introduces students to the ancient holistic practice of Yoga. Though popularly recognized, many students are surprised to find out the many benefits of Yoga.

“I first became aware of it after finding out from watching the NBA and hearing about coach Phil Jackson, the Zen Master,” said senior Redion Xhoxhi.

This is the very same coach that has consistently led legendary players such as Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant to championships. Coach Jackson recognized the bountiful benefits that could enhance his players’ talent, and well-being, by applying a yogic coaching style.

It is true. Yoga is beneficial for health and can maintain, and improve, overall well being through physical and mental fitness.
Yoga is a practice focusing on two components, each providing positive physiological effects. Combined, the asana and pranayama practical techniques can promote radiant health by releasing physical and mental tension.

The practice of Yoga can be a great way to help individuals regulate the ways in which one deals with stress. Stressors appear in the form of external events outside of self and may have an internal impact on cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, nervous system, and immune system activities.
With the increase of library and study time for students entering finals week, students may encounter such stressful events. You will thank yourself by responding to these events with a natural holistic remedy provided by Yoga.

A yogic approach perceives these events with a full awareness and practice meditation, a natural relaxation remedy. It is a stress response that provides a calmness and balance of mind, which can be correlated to lower heart rate and blood pressure. Other additive benefits include anxiety, depression, and insomnia relief.
Asanas are all different postures and stretches that will help alleviate body aches and help facilitate pranayama. Pranayama, breathing exercises, helps focus and regulate life force that resides in all living beings. These breathing exercises help guide meditation.

Together, it will leave the body feeling revitalized and mind feeling completely calm and refreshed.
More practice helps develop a stronger awareness of your body and creates a higher value of your spirit and physical being. This value promotes strong mental health and a fit body free of fatigue and aches. It is the perfect counter to other stress coping methods such as substance dependency.

More About KINES 47 (1.5 credits)
Instructor Emily Dozer guides students in the direction to learn the benefits of Hatha Yoga.
Students meet Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for a half semester of bending and breathing with their mats in the athletic gym.
They are challenged to cancel out the noise of our automated daily routine, and focus on inner self.

Avengers: Age of Ultron –A Sequel Done Right

By: Paul Alberici

Photo credit: IMDB
Photo credit: IMDB

Back in 2012, Marvel Studios released “The Avengers,” a movie which took their famous heroes such as Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk and Thor from their previous stand-alone movies and packed them together to fight one common enemy. This movie was a worldwide phenomenon and became the third biggest launch in movie history. It was hard to imagine what Marvel would do to top this.
On May 1, Marvel went for a second round with their team-up movie with “Avenger, Age of Ultron” and just like the first one, it was nothing short of impressive from my perspective and the perspective of our fellow students at Brandywine.
This movie starts out with Tony Stark, otherwise known as Iron Man (portrayed by Robert Downey Jr.), and Dr. Bruce Banner, otherwise known as The Hulk (portrayed by Mark Ruffalo) realizing the planet needs some sort of global defense force in the form of artificial intelligence for the battles the Avengers couldn’t fight so that the world would always be safe.
This went disastrously wrong as this A.I. system with an attitude and a god-complex known as “Ultron” (voiced and motion capture performance by James Spader) came to life without them knowing and became convinced that the Avengers were part of the problem, not the solution. He sought to destroy them and bring peace to the world. The resulting battles and stakes superseded what panned out in the first Avengers movie.
“Because of the bigger stakes and the previous movies to set it up, there was more destruction and more peril,” sophomore Mark Gurenlian said. “It made it much better and more intense than the first one.”
The main antagonist is a peculiar character and personally one of my favorite villains in the series. Ultron’s task is to create a safer world, which actually confuses him because of how disoriented the world already is. Instead of just being homicidal, he was fiercely intelligent and indifferent towards the loss of life in completing that mission.
He wants peace for the world yet believes that the only way for this to be achieved is through extinction. And James Spader’s voice and motion capture performance truly brought a hunk of metal to life and made him even more creepy and intimidating.
“He was so creepy and was such a great villain,” freshman Sam Dimarco said. “Even visually, he looked alive which made him even more amazing. It is crazy that somebody that evil was created by the Avengers.”
Along with Ultron being new to the fight, there is also the addition of the super-powered twins: Quicksilver (portrayed by Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (portrayed by Elizabeth Olsen). With her telekinetic powers she can manipulate objects and minds and he has super-speed, they actually start out helping Ultron but by the end have a change of heart.
These characters were introduced at the mid credit scene of “Captain America, The Winter Soldier,” but “Age of Ultron” really showed them off as characters and already have fans split on who is their favorite, despite basically being brand new. They truly bring a brand new dynamic to the team with their powers as well as their emotional back-story.
“My favorite new hero would have to be Scarlet Witch!” sophomore Taylor Monkman said. “I loved how they incorporated a mind control hero in this movie.”
“He [Quicksilver] was a perfect combination of action and comedy,” freshman Derek Osborn said. “He had so many good scenes with his super-speed and was an overall comedic character.”
The third new hero was the omnipotent AI known as Vision, who basically turns out to be what Ultron was supposed to be, without the whole “homicidal maniac hell-bent on worldwide extinction” part.
With the first Avengers movie, it took most of the movie for the team to finally come together. This time around, they are already a team, and right from the get-go they are able to get much more accomplished. There is much more cohesiveness in this movie between the Avengers.
Yet with this team already pre-established, this gives the writers more of an opportunity to dive deeper into the specific characters, both new one and old ones. This is something I think was done well for a movie with so many moving parts now with nine separate heroes. While the question the team was faced with in the first one was, “how will this team work together?” The question they face now is, “how will they stay a team?”
“This movie had a much more personal feel,” junior Liz Gramlich said. “This movie went more into their backstories that we may not of known about for each individual character. It didn’t feel like an Avenger held an advantage or did more than the other, everyone was important.”
After asking five different people, nobody could really agree on which scene was his or her favorite scene of the movie, as each person (including myself) stated to like a different scene. This is a testament to the movie that one specific scene does not share a more unique moment over the others. This movie is a non-stop action movie that also has a coherent storyline that makes you feel for some of these characters on some occasions.
As the eleventh movie in this series, this movie truly stands as one of the elite. The stakes are getting higher, the fights are more intense and the strain is pressing more on the team now, it will be interesting where this goes from here. This movie to me earns a 3 and ½ out of 4 stars in my book.
This movie ends by setting-up some of the upcoming films such as “Captain America, Civil War,” “Black Panther,” “Thor, Ragnarok,”as well as the next Avengers movie, the two part “Infinity Wars.”The next movie in the series will be “Ant-Man,” starring Paul Rudd due out this summer.

Meet your 2015 Brandywine New Student Orientation Leaders

By: Paul Alberici

Each year, Brandywine takes in hundreds of new students. Freshman and new students come for orientation looking for answers regarding the next step in their educational career. This is where the Orientation Leaders come into play.
This select group of students all applied for these positions. The selection process included individual and group interviews to show off their leadership abilities and passion for the school. These students were chosen to help these new students become more acclimated and comfortable
Out of a record amount of 40 applicants for this position, a total of 14 were chosen:

• Jacob Adams-Business Management
• Paul Alberici-Corporate Communications
• Noor Avi-Marketing and Management
• Gene Cabrera-Criminology
• Lazina Chowdury-Pharmacy
• Fatuomato Conteh-Biology
• Coleman Hart-Marketing
• Yaasmiyn Mapp-Psychology (Returning OL)
• Michael Mensah –Biochemistry &Molecular Biology (Returning OL of the year)
• Anant Pathak-Finance
• Allyson Pyle-Psychology
• David Spencer-Accounting
• Anna Toshtzar-Business Management
• Logan Woods-Finance

Stephanie Jones, the associate director of Student affairs and one of the people in charge of making these decisions, explained that this was not a decision done overnight.
“This was a super hard decision to make,” Jones said. “It was awesome because we had so many super-involved and so many student who wanted to get involved apply for this position. What made it so hard is that we wanted to take people from both sides of that spectrum.”
Aside from just applying and looking at involvement, there were some other key factors that went into the decision.
“One of the first factors we looked at was GPA,”Jones said. “We had a certain line set for where we wanted the students to be at and if they weren’t quite there, we felt it was more important for that student to focus on their academics.”
Another key factor in the selection process was the interview process. When Ronika Money-Adams and Jones conducted their interviews, they were looking for people that get excited about the campus or people who would represent the campus and school well. The interaction that took place in the group interviews as well was a vital piece in making the final decision.
Now, along with the orientation to show students what to do, there are also events being planned throughout the summer to get excited about coming here and getting to know each other. Some of the possible events being planned are a trip to a Phillies game, Ice cream Olympics, and the annual Grill & Chill. All of these events are not only going to be exciting for the incoming students, but also have the Orientation Leaders excited as well.
“I am hoping to make the orientation fun and exciting for upcoming freshman,” Anna Toshtzar said. “I also hope to make new friends in the process.”
Now some of these orientation leaders had different inspirations for waiting to become orientation leaders. Whether it was just a personal desire to help the new students or if it was because of a successful orientation leader they themselves had.
“I wanted to become an OL because of my OL,” Gene Cabrera said. “He was very involved with the group and that inspired me to do the same.My OL was excited to talk to us and he went up to everyone to start a conversation.”
Part of these 14 leaders, there are two returning OL’s:YaasyminMapp and Michael Mensah, who was also the Orientation Leader of the year last summer. This was an experience they both enjoyed thoroughly and were excited to have this opportunity once again. They were both also very eager to get back at it.
“Being an OL last year was so much fun! It was the highlight of my summer of 2014,” Mensah said. “I would wake up excited and ready to go to work; I’m not even a morningperson! After the experience I had last summer, there was no way I could resistcoming back.”

This experience was something that they not only enjoyed doing because it helped other people get accustomed to the school, but also because they learned valuable leadership skills as well as meeting new people, both OLs and new students. This is something they both cherish and hope the new OLs get out of it.

“I’m hoping that the new OLs will also gain more leadership skills,” Mapp said.“As well as helping out these students as if they would want to be helped out, and to have fun! I truly hope that they will gain a memorable experience that they will never forget!”

With all this excitement through the new team, it doesn’t seem like it will be a dull summer here at Brandywine. New Student Orientation Leader will team up for the first time for their training on June 4th.

Building On The Pinstripes

The Penn State Nittany Lions take the field for the first time since the epic Pinstripe Bowl victory.
By Vito Purpura, Lion’s Eye Editor, vap5077@psu.edu

Many months have passed since former walk-on Sam Ficken drilled an extra point at Yankee Stadium that gave Penn State a 31-30 overtime victory.

It was Penn State’s first bowl victory following a postseason ban. Since then some players have left for the NFL, while others have graduated and began life after football. As summer approaches, Penn State continues its preparations for next season.  One of which includes the annual Blue & White game held at Beaver Stadium.

The Blue & White game, which is essentially an overhyped practice, provides a glimpse at the team and what plays they might be running this season. Making assumptions based off of the Blue & White game is almost impossible.

“If we analyzed the Blue & White game like a normal game, then Nick Scott might be a Heisman trophy candidate,” Penn State fan John Derosier said at the annual event.

Nick Scott had an impressive day running the ball, which included a 52-yard touchdown run.

Expectations are high this year for the Penn State football team. Coming off of a New Era Pinstripe Bowl championship, they look to improve and make it to a major BCS bowl game. Now with a full year under his belt, Coach James Franklin can continue to build his ideal team. People sometimes forget that he inherited a team molded by Bill O’Brien and originally constructed by the late Joe Paterno.

As time goes on, one would hope Coach Franklin continues to excel in recruiting and build the program he has in mind. Some are still skeptical about Coach Franklin.

“Sometimes he reminds me of a guy who’s full of you know what,” Season ticket holder Jordan Gillespie on Coach Franklin.  “He talks a big game, but really all I care about is what he produces on the field. Talk doesn’t put points on the board.”

Just a short time ago, Joe Paterno was continuing his legendary coaching career, Penn State was flirting with top 25 rankings and they were still being revered as “Linebacker U”. While the name, traditions and for the most part the uniform remain the same, the Penn State football program has unfortunately lost some of its prestige. Winning fixes everything, but the question remains if James Franklin can.