The Penn State Nittany Lions are gearing up for an unprecedented 16th game of the season, a result of their success in both the Big Ten Championship and the College Football Playoff. The grueling schedule has pushed players and coaches to new limits, requiring careful management of player health and a constant balancing act on the recruiting front.
Penn State defensive tackles Dvon J-Thomas and Zane Durant stretch before Fiesta Bowl practice on Dec. 29, 2024. No FBS national champion has ever played more than 14 games, which was a new high when the College Football Playoff started in 2014. But Penn State beat Boise State in its 15th game of the season. The Nittany Lions are preparing for an unprecedented 16th game against Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl . With a win, they’d head to the national championship in Game 17.
That’s the length of a regular season in the NFL these days, and it’s a lot to handle for college players and programs. New levels of body care for players go hand-in-hand with a wild balancing act on the recruiting front for coaches, trying to keep their own players out of the transfer portal, find new pieces in the portal and put the finishing touches on high school classes.. But offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki put the grueling length of this season into pretty good perspective before the Fiesta Bowl win over Boise State. “We were talking yesterday because we had practice yesterday. We said, where would you rather be? If someone said in July, ‘Hey, we’re going to be practicing on Christmas because we’re playing for a national championship in the playoffs,’ people would have signed up immediately, saying ‘Hell yeah,’” Kotelnicki said. “There are a lot of people that aren’t doing press conferences today because they’re not playing anymore. We’re fortunate and blessed to be doing that. “There are moments where we need to keep the main thing the main thing. As tired as we are, we need to enjoy what we’re doing here, and we are. We’re having a great time doing it.” Beyond the pure number of games, though, the stakes of a Big Ten Championship and a CFP run have led to increased workloads on game days. Take a look at Penn State’s trio of defensive tackles — Dvon J-Thomas, Zane Durant and Coziah Izzard — who have played season-high snap counts in the past three week
College Football Penn State Nittany Lions Fiesta Bowl Orange Bowl CFP National Championship Player Fatigue
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