Success With Hyperlinking Wants Sam Kicken Again

Women's Volleyball

The returning national champions lost for the first time on the season when Nebraska came to town last weekend. Not taking long to recover from the disappointment, the team was able to bounce back the following day when it took on Iowa. Megan Courtney had 12 kills and 13 digs as the team bounced back with a win

The Lions will play a pair of matches over the weekend in Illinois. They will face Illinois on Friday night at 8 p.m. in a match that will be broadcast nationally on the Big Ten Network and Northwestern on Saturday night at 8 p.m.

Football

Check out this story about the impact of Rutgers and Maryland joining the B1G. The move has contributed to the changing landscape in college football that has been underway for the past decade. Grantland took a look at the new Big Ten and found reason for watching the noon games once again. The Ohio State University football team officially announced that it will wear a special all-black uniform when it hosts Penn State in a few weeks.

Who would have thought at the start of the season that Carl Nassib would get better reviews than Baylor's Shawn Oakman five games into the season? Rivals' Adam Gorney breaks down the top prospects at defensive end and has Nassib ranked at #3.

Former Penn State kick returner Gerald Hodges has been traded from Minnesota to the San Francisco 49ers. Hodges will join fellow former Lion Navorro Bowman on the 49ers' defense.

Soccer

The men's soccer team split a pair of matches this past week. It lost on Wednesday 1-0 to Akron and defeated Rutgers 2-0 on the road in Piscataway on Saturday. There was a good look into the life of Dani Marks, a redshirt freshmen, who served in the Israeli military before joining the Nittany Lions. Another member of the men's team that has international ties is Nate Lee. Lee will join the Guam National team for the FIFA World Cup Qualifications. The team will face Maryland at home on Friday night at 7 p.m.

On the women's soccer side, the team won 3-0 versus Northwestern in the only match it played last week. The team will host Maryland on Thursday night at 7 p.m. and then Indiana on Sunday at 1 p.m. Ali Krieger was honored at Beaver Stadium on Saturday and even led the stadium in an 'I believe' chant.

Quick Hits

The women's cross country team competed for the first time in three weeks and came in third at the Greater Louisville Classic. The team is currently ranked #16. The men's lacrosse team will play a pair of games this weekend on the road in the Capital Lacrosse Invitational. The chemistry department recently got a generous endowment from professor of chemistry Steven Weinreb that will go towards supporting young faculty members. Are you sick of the rat race? A recent study with rats has shown the adversity and stress early in life can lead to better problem solving later in life.

TWISF (This Week In Sam Ficken)

For the second time this year Sam Ficken has lobbied for a chance to kick in the NFL. This time the former PSU kicker and cult hero shared a video of himself kicking a 65 yard field goal. Earlier in the season Ficken brought it to the attention of the Pittsburgh Steelers that he is still available. At this point in the year we may see teams bring in kickers for auditions. Tampa Bay was reeling after a poor performance by kicker Kyle Brindza, who was released Monday. Connor Barth took to twitter on Monday after learning of Brindza's release. Two days later Tampa signed Barth. Crazier things have happened. Let's hope Sam finds a kicking opportunity soon!