Penn State Football

No. 5 Ohio State is listed ahead of No. 8 Penn State in the College Football Playoff rankings and has a head-to-head win over the Nittany Lions, but that reportedly won't stop the Rose Bowl from potentially passing on the Buckeyes even if given the opportunity to select them.

Nicole Auerbach and Stewart Mandel of The Athletic reported Wednesday that "the Rose Bowl is strongly considering taking Penn State instead of Ohio State this year" if the Buckeyes do not finish in the top four and make the CFP.

While the Rose Bowl traditionally takes the Big Ten champion, Michigan figures to be in the CFP if it defeats Purdue in the conference title game Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium. That would leave the bowl opening for another team, and Ohio State would normally be the selection.

However, as Auerbach noted, the Rose Bowl is not obligated to pick the highest-ranked team of the remaining options.

On paper, passing up on a chance to pick the Buckeyes seems foolish.

Data indicated before the season started that Scarlet and Gray have the biggest fanbase in college football. They are also television ratings juggernauts who routinely draw millions of eyeballs to watch their games.

According to Sports Media Watch, Ohio State had the highest-ranked game of the week four times this year when it faced Michigan, Maryland, Penn State and Notre Dame. It also finished in the top five most-watched games of the week when it played Toledo, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Iowa and Northwestern.

That all adds up to an easy selection for the Rose Bowl, right?

Well, not so fast.

Ohio State was just in the Rose Bowl last year and is one of the programs that approaches every season with a championship-or-bust mentality. Fair or not, the fanbase views a trip to the Rose Bowl and not the CFP as a disappointment, especially if it came after a loss to archrival Michigan.

The Buckeyes lost to the Wolverines for a second straight year when a win would have all but clinched a spot in the top four. Their fans were not enthusiastic about a Rose Bowl game consolation prize last season in the same scenario and didn't even sell out their allotment of tickets for the matchup with Utah, per Auerbach.

There is also the reality that many Ohio State players could opt out ahead of the exhibition game.

That was the case last season when Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson were among the players who didn't play to protect their NFL draft status, although that didn't stop the Buckeyes from defeating Utah in a high-scoring thriller.

Quarterback C.J. Stroud has already said he would consider sitting out a non-playoff bowl game, and he likely wouldn't be the only one.

Penn State, on the other hand, hasn't been to the Rose Bowl since the 2016 campaign. It isn't quite in the national-championship-or-bust mode that Ohio State is every year, and its fans would likely be more enthusiastic about such a trip to a prominent bowl game.

All of that means the Rose Bowl may decide to jump at the chance to take the Nittany Lions.

If the Buckeyes have their way, though, Utah will defeat USC in Friday's Pac-12 Championship Game and open up a spot in the CFP after all.

Penn State redshirt junior cornerback Joey Porter Jr. is ready to take his talents to the next level.

Porter announced on social media that he is declaring for the 2023 NFL draft, and he will skip the Nittany Lions' bowl game to prepare for the pre-draft process:

Porter played in 10 games in 2022 and racked up 27 total tackles, 11 passes defended and a fumble recovery. He ends his career with 94 tackles, 19 passes defended and one interception.

Porter was the only Penn State player to be named to the All-Big Ten first team. The No. 8-ranked Nittany Lions finished the regular season with a 10-2 record, with their only losses coming against No. 2 Michigan and No. 5 Ohio State.

NFL teams in need of defensive help will be jumping to the front of the line to draft Porter. B/R's NFL draft big board has him ranked as top defensive back and No. 6 overall prospect in the 2023 class while also listing him as the best cornerback when it comes to man-to-man coverage. B/R's most recent mock draft projected Porter as the No. 8 pick to the Philadelphia Eagles.

"Very few cornerbacks play with the same physicality and zeal as Porter does," the evaluation for Porter stated. "His approach can get him in trouble with his coverage, as he becomes too grabby, but his overall competitiveness might be the best in the entire class."

While Porter leaving for the NFL is a blow to Penn State's defense next year, the Nittany Lions received good news earlier this week when stalwart offensive tackle Olumuyiwa Fashanu decided not to enter the draft and instead return for his senior season.

One of this year's top NFL draft prospects reportedly will not turn pro in 2023.

According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, Penn State offensive tackle Olumuyiwa Fashanu will not enter the NFL draft and instead will return to return to school for his senior season. In B/R's NFL draft big board, Fashanu was ranked as the top offensive lineman and No. 12 overall prospect in the 2023 class.

Per Thamel, Fashanu said he has "unfinished business" and hopes to help lead Penn State to a Big Ten championship as well as a national championship next year.

Fashanu, who will earn a degree in supply chain management next year and intends to pursue a master's, also named his relationships with offensive line coach Phil Trautwein and head coach James Franklin as factors in his decision to return.

"We couldn't be more excited to have Olu return for the 2023 season," Franklin said. "He is a person of high character who exemplifies our core values, leads by example and models what it means to be a complete Penn State student-athlete. We will continue to work extremely hard to help Olu achieve all of his goals on and off the field and look forward to another season with him and his family in Happy Valley."

Fashanu is only 19 years old and in his first season as a full-time starter, but he already has wowed pro scouts by anchoring an offensive line that helped the Nittany Lions achieve a 10-2 record. The 6'6", 308-pound redshirt sophomore is a Waldorf, Maryland, native and played at Gonzaga College High School.

In B/R's most recent mock draft, Fashanu was projected as the No. 6 pick by the Las Vegas Raiders. He was tabbed as "the complete package when it comes to the physical tools necessary to excel as an NFL offensive tackle."

With a year of polish, Fashanu could emerge as the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2024 draft class.

Former Penn State linebacker Bani Gbadyu died Saturday morning after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, per Frank Bodani of the York Daily Record. He was 34.

Bodani reported on Gbadyu's cancer diagnosis in an article earlier this month, writing that the former Nittany Lion was "stunned" by the news and was hospitalized in intensive care. Gbadyu also said the following in a Facebook post last week, per Bodani:

"I feel blessed that there is an army invading heaven with prayers on my behalf. I know and can feel that God is loving me through this unimaginable time. I know everyone is supporting me, and most importantly my wife, family and kids believe in me. I hope that my journey can be a lesson for someone, at some point in time. We are going to lean on God and Fight On. #FightOnBani."

A GoFundMe page created to help Gbadyu's family with medical costs had raised more than $85,000 as of Saturday night.

Gbadyu, who left war-torn Liberia with his father and older brother when he was a young boy, played for the Nittany Lions from 2007-10, serving primarily as a backup linebacker and occasional starter.

In four seasons at Penn State, he posted 118 tackles, seven tackles for a loss, one interception, one pass breakup and one forced fumble.

Following his college football career, Gbadyu earned a tryout with the then-Oakland Raiders but was cut early and never played a game for the franchise. In recent years, he served as a high school football coach around Lebanon, Pennsylvania.

Eli Manning's second chapter continues to be a hit.

The former New York Giants quarterback turned media personality went undercover for Penn State's walk-on tryouts, pretending to be a "Chad Powers" persona he created for ESPN's Eli's Places.

Hilarity ensued.

You've gotta hand it to the 41-year-old Manning—he can still sling it. Sean Clifford's job is probably safe, however, given that whole eligibility thing.

Instead, the next Manning we'll see in college football is the nephew of Eli and Peyton, Arch Manning, who has committed to Texas and is the top-ranked prospect and quarterback in the class of 2023, according to 247Sports' composite rankings.

Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford and other Big Ten football players spoke with Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren this week about player benefits and representation, according to ESPN's Dan Murphy.

"It's been a collective group coming together," Clifford told Murphy. "Everyone wants players to have more of a voice."

Clifford discussed the group's goals with More Perfect Union, a media organization focused on American labor movements:

Warren also met with Jason Stahl, the founder and executive director of the College Football Players Association. Stahl raised the topics of player representation, medical insurance and media rights revenue, per Murphy.

Warren said in a statement to ESPN:

"The Big Ten Conference consistently communicates and collaborates with our student-athletes. We are in the process of formalizing a student-athlete advisory committee to seek input from our student-athletes about the changing landscape of college athletics. We continue to work with our member institutions to ensure our student-athletes have an outstanding and well-rounded experience, while promoting and safeguarding the mission of higher education, and prioritizing excellence and integrity in both academics and athletics."

The CFBPA formed last July under the guidance of Stahl, a former University of Minnesota professor. Any active college football player is eligible to join the association for $24 in annual dues.

"This is the next step," Stahl told Murphy last year. "If players don't get organized now, it's never going to happen. There's so much we can do right now."

A separate organization formed in 2001, the National College Players Association, is an advocacy group for all student-athletes.

Northwestern football players formed the College Athletes Players Association in 2014 in an attempt to unionize but were denied in 2015 by the National Labor Relations Board.

In September, NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo announced the board was set to reverse its prior stance and would make college athletes eligible for unionization efforts, allowing them to "act collectively to improve their terms and conditions of employment."

Abruzzo stated student-athletes should be viewed as "statutory employees" under common law.

A players union could represent the latest transformational shift for NCAA sports, which generated $18.9 billion in revenue for member schools in 2019, per Felix Richter of Statista.

In June 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the NCAA could no longer use the shield of amateurism to prevent athletes from profiting off their name, image and likeness (NIL) rights while they competed in college sports.

Opendorse, a firm that tracks endorsements, found college athletes earned an estimated $917 million in compensation during the first year of the NIL era, and that number is expected to reach $1.14 billion during the 2022-23 academic year, per Yahoo Sports' Josh Schafer.

Stahl told Murphy when the CFBPA was formed that revenue sharing between the NCAA, schools and players was likely years away, even in a unionized environment, and the initial focus would be on reinforcing the health, safety and welfare of players via increased medical benefits and practice restrictions.

Clifford, a 24-year-old Illinois native, is entering his sixth year at Penn State and will be one of the Big Ten's most high-profile players during the 2022 season.

Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford is focused on helping his fellow student-athletes off the field as he prepares for his sixth season with the Nittany Lions program.

Pete Thamel of ESPN reported Clifford launched the agency Limitless NIL, which will represent college athletes looking to make money under the NCAA's name, image and likeness legislation. There are five employees who work for the agency, and it has signed seven athletes from three different schools to this point.

"It's the agency that I was looking for that I couldn't find," Clifford said. "It's for the players, by the players. I wanted to do something to leave even more of a legacy than just on the field. And I thought that this was kind of the way that I wanted to go."

Thamel noted Limitless NIL is believed to be the first agency founded by a student-athlete with the purpose of helping others with NIL.

Penn State safety Ji'Ayir Brown, Penn State women's basketball player Anna Camden and Kentucky tight end Brenden Bates are among those who have already signed, and there are planned recruiting trips to nearby schools such as Ohio State, Cincinnati, Kentucky, Pitt and West Virginia.

Clifford made more than $100,000 with NIL last year as Penn State's starting quarterback but realized agencies that are accustomed to working with professional athletes sometimes struggled to maximize the potential of college athletes with other time commitments and responsibilities.

"A lot of bigger agencies lack the strategy for content creation and the marketing specialty, what athletes should be posting day in and out," the 23-year-old said. "How they should be building their brand and interacting with community."

The quarterback also pointed out those who sign with Limitless NIL will have access to financial advisers to improve their financial literacy. The agency also features an internship program and education on time management and building social media followings.

The 2022 campaign will be Clifford's fourth as Penn State's starting quarterback, and expectations will be high after he completed 61.0 percent of his passes for 3,107 yards, 21 touchdowns and eight interceptions last year.

Penn State struggled as a whole, though, on the way to a 7-6 record and Outback Bowl loss after going 4-5 during the shortened 2020 campaign.

Bouncing back this year may require Clifford to take another step against a schedule that includes showdowns with Ohio State, Michigan, Auburn and Michigan State.

Yet even if the Nittany Lions underperform on the field for the third straight season, Clifford has already proved to be a leader off it and will surely look to continue expanding the agency.