Andrew Rappleyea didn’t try to sugarcoat Penn State’s latest stumble.
After the Nittany Lions’ 31-23 loss to USC in front of a record White Out crowd of 114,419, the veteran tight end sat in the Beaver Stadium press room looking every bit like a player who had seen this movie too many times before. The result dropped Penn State to 3-3 and left Rappleyea sounding as raw as he looked.
“It’s tough. There’s no other way to put it.
We’ve got to be tougher. We’ve got to be better.
We’ve got to be more violent,” Rappleyea said. “We’ve got to be better in a lot of aspects of game of football if we want to be where we want to be.
It’s frustrating because you see a lot of good things still - I felt like more good than we’ve had during the last couple weeks on both sides, and then just came up short.”
Rappleyea was one of the few bright spots in the defeat. He finished with seven catches on 10 targets for 63 yards and a touchdown, scoring on 4th-and-2 in the first quarter. But even after his biggest game of the season, he spent much of his postgame session focusing on what he and the team did wrong.
That included a costly missed block late in the game, one he wore heavily.
“When you have a group of vets out there, especially, and you’ve got some young guys, you got to bring them along with you,” Rappleyea said. “We’ve seen all these pressures before.
Like I can’t get beat across my face on a sam edge when I know the defensive end’s going slant down. I’ve been here four years.
That can’t happen. And just stuff like that.”
The frustration fit the moment. Penn State has now dropped three straight in Big Ten play, and Rappleyea made it clear he’s tired of the same kinds of mistakes piling up.
“We’re 3-3. It sucks.
That’s the only way to put it. But all we can do tomorrow is prepare for next weekend at Michigan.”
He also pointed to Matt Campbell as someone he believes is confronting the mess head-on. Rappleyea called the first-year coach “the realest person” he’s met when it comes to accountability, and said the tone inside the program feels different from the one around last year’s team, which lost four in a row before eventually regrouping under interim coach and current safeties coach Terry Smith.
Rappleyea said that experience taught this group what not to do.
“We’ve been in this situation before in the past. I was here last year.
Guys were pointing fingers, guys turning each other. It’s all about how you’re going to respond,” Rappleyea said.
“We can do that, and obviously, we know that probably won’t bode well. And I promise you, that will not happen because we have a great coach leading us in that locker room.”
For Rappleyea, the answer now is simple: keep showing up, keep leaning on the people in the room, and keep moving toward next week.
“You still show up every day because this is what you love to do,” Rappleyea said. “You love the brothers around you, and you want to make the most of your you know of your opportunity.”
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Penn State White Out Loss Put One Staff Decision Under A Microscope
Penn States White Out loss to No. 19 USC left the Nittany Lions at 3-3, and the mood afterward was less about the spectacle than the questions it raised about how the roster is being used. There were still some encouraging individual signs in the 31-23 defeat, including improved play from tight end Andrew Rappleyea and wide receiver Chase Sowell, while linebacker Tony Rojas continued to provide defensive leadership in a game the Lions needed more of it.
The bigger wrinkle, though, was what the staff chose not to get from everyone available, especially with safety Marcus Neal Jr. out of the game and running back James Peoples unable to find much efficiency. In a season that is already demanding cleaner decisions and steadier production, the USC loss put a familiar kind of spotlight on whether Penn State is getting enough out of the pieces it has on hand. [Read more 🡒]
Penn States White Out Loss Just Changed The Entire Postseason Conversation
The White Out loss to USC did more than dent Penn States resume, it shifted the whole tone of the seasons final stretch. A game that carried real playoff weight instead ended with a 31-23 setback, and now the Nittany Lions are dealing with a postseason picture that looks a lot less ambitious than it did before kickoff.
Across the major projections, Penn States College Football Playoff odds have been pushed into the very low or even zero range, which is a hard turn for a team that had been in the conversation. The focus now appears to be on where the Nittany Lions land in the bowl pecking order, with names like the ReliaQuest Bowl and the Dukes Mayo Bowl suddenly part of the discussion. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Faces A Brutal Test As Big Ten Pressure Mounts
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Michigan has not been lighting up the scoreboard either, but the Wolverines have at least been difficult to separate from because of a defense that has kept opponents to 19 points or fewer. Bryce Underwoods numbers reflect the uneven nature of Michigans offense, with five touchdown passes, four interceptions and a 59.3% completion rate, while Penn States running backs have not delivered the explosive plays the Nittany Lions were hoping to uncover by now. In a game like this, the margin for error is thin, and the team that finds some confidence first may finally ease a little of that conference tension. [Read more 🡒]