The Obligatory PSU Podcast

Recorded roughly 12 hours after the Nittany Lions completed an embarrassing pillar-to-post implosion at Northwestern, the guys give their raw reactions to this latest indignity in what is currently the torturous experience of Penn State football fandom. Kevin, Brandon, Mike, and Chris are your spirit guides on Penn State's long, aimless sojourn into the untamed wilderness.

HOSTED BY: Brandon Noble, Mike "The Mailman" Herr, Kevin Horne, Chris Buchignani

The Obligatory PSU Podcast is brought to you once again this season by GOLD HEN BLOODY MARY MIX, a Penn State alumni-owned company, makers of the truly one-of-a-kind Gold Hen Bloody Mary Mix. Try it today by going to: GoldHenBloodyMary.com

The unique flavor profile of Gold Hen Bloody Mary Mix complements a variety of alcohols and makes an excellent marinade or cooking ingredient. This year, the guys at Gold Hen are teaming up with Landon Tengwall to put a distinctly Penn State spin on their signature product with the special edition Blue-and-White-themed Gold Hen Batch 58. Stock up for tailgate season today!

CHECKMATE RENTALS is a service oriented, homeowner-first vacation rental management partner that has earned the trust of STR owners around the country. Founded in their hometown in Beaver County, PA, Checkmate’s ownership group includes proud Penn State alumni. If you own a short-term rental property you list with services like AirBnB, book a call with CEO Chad Phillis today at: https://www.checkmaterentals.com/

At ANTIFRAGILE BREWING CO., the only taproom and brewery located in downtown State College at 324 E. Calder Way, something new is always brewing. In addition to the fantastic beers, you can also enjoy Moody Culture Kombucha, fresh-crafted cocktails made from PA spirits, and incredible Uncle John's Jawns cheesesteaks.

Our first podcast description of the season ended with this question: "Is Penn State football's new leadership playing the 'Moneyball' long game while restoring the spirit of Success with Honor or placating a shrinking segment of the fanbase as the rest of college football passes them by?"

On Saturday night, in a mostly-full and distractingly (though not entirely in a good way) loud Beaver Stadium on Homecoming, we got our first meaningful data point to begin clarifying the answer to this existential question, one that is suddenly weighing heavier on Nittany Nation this week. The early returns were, let's say, discouraging. Now, as the Lions disrupt their weekly routine (a coach's favorite!) before hitting the road for a Friday night tilt in Evanston with a feisty Northwestern Wildcat squad seeking to christen their new home field with a signature win, the trajectory of Penn State's football program hangs in the balance. 

HOSTED BY: Brandon Noble, Mike "The Mailman" Herr, Kevin Horne, Chris Buchignani

The Obligatory PSU Podcast is brought to you once again this season by GOLD HEN BLOODY MARY MIX, a Penn State alumni-owned company, makers of the truly one-of-a-kind Gold Hen Bloody Mary Mix. Try it today by going to: GoldHenBloodyMary.com

The unique flavor profile of Gold Hen Bloody Mary Mix complements a variety of alcohols and makes an excellent marinade or cooking ingredient. This year, the guys at Gold Hen are teaming up with Landon Tengwall to put a distinctly Penn State spin on their signature product with the special edition Blue-and-White-themed Gold Hen Batch 58. Stock up for tailgate season today!

CHECKMATE RENTALS is a service oriented, homeowner-first vacation rental management partner that has earned the trust of STR owners around the country. Founded in their hometown in Beaver County, PA, Checkmate’s ownership group includes proud Penn State alumni. If you own a short-term rental property you list with services like AirBnB, book a call with CEO Chad Phillis today at: https://www.checkmaterentals.com/

At ANTIFRAGILE BREWING CO., the only taproom and brewery located in downtown State College at 324 E. Calder Way, something new is always brewing. In addition to the fantastic beers, you can also enjoy Moody Culture Kombucha, fresh-crafted cocktails made from PA spirits, and incredible Uncle John's Jawns cheesesteaks.

It's Homecoming Week in Happy Valley! What better time of year for new head coach Matt Campbell, his staff, and his 3-0 team to begin their Big Ten journey than with the vocal support of a raucous Temu White Out (Helmet Stripe) crowd under the lights at Beaver Stadium as we celebrate everything that makes Penn State great. Showcasing the very best this dumb show has to offer (a low bar to clear!), the cast minus Mailman (off hustling a poker game - you think we're joking) gets you ready for this weekend's game and then gets you in that Blue and White mood. After first dispensing with the (ahem) "obligatory" football talk, the guys move into the territory where they're most comfortable, swapping stories from their college days. With a little football, a lot of nonsense, and an endless supply of genuine affection for team, school, and place, three of our four OGs show off what we hope makes Obligatory different from anything else out there. Listen until the end, because if you haven't already planned your trip back to State College, you'll be packing your bags and scanning the secondary ticket sites.

Hope to see you at Antifragile for a beer on Friday night and Legends at the Penn Stater for the Pregame Show taping on Sunday morning (with lots of tailgating and a Nittany Lions victory in between)!

HOSTED BY: Brandon Noble, Kevin Horne, Chris Buchignani

The Obligatory PSU Podcast is brought to you once again this season by GOLD HEN BLOODY MARY MIX, a Penn State alumni-owned company, makers of the truly one-of-a-kind Gold Hen Bloody Mary Mix. Try it today by going to: GoldHenBloodyMary.com

The unique flavor profile of Gold Hen Bloody Mary Mix complements a variety of alcohols and makes an excellent marinade or cooking ingredient. This year, the guys at Gold Hen are teaming up with Landon Tengwall to put a distinctly Penn State spin on their signature product with the special edition Blue-and-White-themed Gold Hen Batch 58. Stock up for tailgate season today!

CHECKMATE RENTALS is a service oriented, homeowner-first vacation rental management partner that has earned the trust of STR owners around the country. Founded in their hometown in Beaver County, PA, Checkmate’s ownership group includes proud Penn State alumni. If you own a short-term rental property you list with services like AirBnB, book a call with CEO Chad Phillis today at: https://www.checkmaterentals.com/

At ANTIFRAGILE BREWING CO., the only taproom and brewery located in downtown State College at 324 E. Calder Way, something new is always brewing. In addition to the fantastic beers, you can also enjoy Moody Culture Kombucha, fresh-crafted cocktails made from PA spirits, and incredible Uncle John's Jawns cheesesteaks.

If Week One offered a pleasant distraction from the harsh realities of college football, Penn State's second game and first road contest of the season - a bus trip to the City of Brotherly Love to face the Temple Owls at the Eagles' stadium - quickly reminded coaches, players, and fans that the game can be as unforgiving as it is unpredictable. The guys recap the lessons and wakeup calls from a closer-than-necessary 27-9 victory and examine evidence around how Matt Campbell's staff and players are responding ahead of their final non-conference tuneup versus the Buffalo Bulls.

HOSTED BY: Mike "The Mailman" Herr, Kevin Horne, Chris Buchignani

The Obligatory PSU Podcast is brought to you once again this season by GOLD HEN BLOODY MARY MIX, a Penn State alumni-owned company, makers of the truly one-of-a-kind Gold Hen Bloody Mary Mix. Try it today by going to: GoldHenBloodyMary.com

The unique flavor profile of Gold Hen Bloody Mary Mix complements a variety of alcohols and makes an excellent marinade or cooking ingredient. This year, the guys at Gold Hen are teaming up with Landon Tengwall to put a distinctly Penn State spin on their signature product with the special edition Blue-and-White-themed Gold Hen Batch 58. Stock up for tailgate season today!

CHECKMATE RENTALS is a service oriented, homeowner-first vacation rental management partner that has earned the trust of STR owners around the country. Founded in their hometown in Beaver County, PA, Checkmate’s ownership group includes proud Penn State alumni. If you own a short-term rental property you list with services like AirBnB, book a call with CEO Chad Phillis today at: https://www.checkmaterentals.com/

At ANTIFRAGILE BREWING CO., the only taproom and brewery located in downtown State College at 324 E. Calder Way, something new is always brewing. In addition to the fantastic beers, you can also enjoy Moody Culture Kombucha, fresh-crafted cocktails made from PA spirits, and incredible Uncle John's Jawns cheesesteaks.

For the moment at least, the bad memories were banished - the lengthy, lingering shadows of a shattered season ripe with promise, a messy divorce rife with mutual recrimination and the ensuing miserable slog of a coaching search riddled with dead ends and false starts, an offseason loaded with uncertainties and a chorus of skeptics ritually chanting "Iowa State East" - all were swept away like so much dust on the wind in one breezy, sun-drenched afternoon in Happy Valley. As a blissfully relaxed, near-capacity crowd slowly filed out of Beaver Stadium while home team salted away a 45-0 season-opening win, the simplest question haunting an interminably long offseason had been answered: Yes, the Penn State Nittany Lions could still play football, and they were going to be just fine, in fact.

With the fandom still milking that sugar high, Matt Campbell takes his team on the road for the first time, looking to exorcise some demons of the deeper past. The Lions return to Lincoln Financial Field for the first time since their infamous 10-sack humbling at the hands of alumnus and Letterman Matt Rhule's 2015 Temple team. That was then. Coach and school have long since parted ways and neither's fortunes have improved since that day destined to pass into the annal of Owl legend. Today, it is Penn State, no longer hobbled by sanctions and newly relieved of its more recent doubts, that once again looks to hold the upper hand.

With half the usuals off pursuing solo projects, the rare Noble-Buchignani tandem wraps up the satisfying win over Marshall and look ahead to the team's trip to Philly.

HOSTED BY: Brandon Noble, Chris Buchignani

The Obligatory PSU Podcast is brought to you once again this season by GOLD HEN BLOODY MARY MIX, a Penn State alumni-owned company, makers of the truly one-of-a-kind Gold Hen Bloody Mary Mix. Try it today by going to: GoldHenBloodyMary.com

The unique flavor profile of Gold Hen Bloody Mary Mix complements a variety of alcohols and makes an excellent marinade or cooking ingredient. This year, the guys at Gold Hen are teaming up with Landon Tengwall to put a distinctly Penn State spin on their signature product with the special edition Blue-and-White-themed Gold Hen Batch 58. Stock up for tailgate season today!

CHECKMATE RENTALS is a service oriented, homeowner-first vacation rental management partner that has earned the trust of STR owners around the country. Founded in their hometown in Beaver County, PA, Checkmate’s ownership group includes proud Penn State alumni. If you own a short-term rental property you list with services like AirBnB, book a call with CEO Chad Phillis today at: https://www.checkmaterentals.com/

At ANTIFRAGILE BREWING CO., the only taproom and brewery located in downtown State College at 324 E. Calder Way, something new is always brewing. In addition to the fantastic beers, you can also enjoy Moody Culture Kombucha, fresh-crafted cocktails made from PA spirits, and incredible Uncle John's Jawns cheesesteaks.

FINALLY, FOOTBALL! And just in time, the gang is back to preview the highly unusual occasion of a new Penn State head football coach making his debut (ironically, the most "normal" such instance in nearly 60 years). Matt Campbell will lead the Nittany Lions out of the tunnel for the first time against Marshall. What should fans be expecting from this team, a unique blended family under the leadership of a man who's hit all the right notes this offseason, but will now be judged on the unforgiving metric of wins and losses? The guys give one final look ahead at Campbell's first game and inaugural campaign before the college season kicks off in earnest.

HOSTED BY: Mike "The Mailman" Herr, Kevin Horne, Chris Buchignani

The Obligatory PSU Podcast is brought to you once again this season by Gold Hen, a Penn State alumni-owned company, makers of the truly one-of-a-kind Gold Hen Bloody Mary Mix. Try it today by going to: GoldHenBloodyMary.com

The unique flavor profile of Gold Hen Bloody Mary Mix complements a variety of alcohols and makes an excellent marinade or cooking ingredient. This year, the guys at Gold Hen are teaming up with Landon Tengwall to put a distinctly Penn State spin on their signature product with the special edition Blue-and-White-themed Gold Hen Batch 58. Stock up for tailgate season today!

CHECKMATE RENTALS is a service oriented, homeowner-first vacation rental management partner that has earned the trust of STR owners around the country. Founded in their hometown in Beaver County, PA, Checkmate’s ownership group includes proud Penn State alumni. If you own a short-term rental property you list with services like AirBnB, book a call with CEO Chad Phillis today at: https://www.checkmaterentals.com/

At ANTIFRAGILE BREWING CO., the only taproom and brewery located in downtown State College at 324 E. Calder Way, something new is always brewing. In addition to the fantastic beers, you can also enjoy Moody Culture Kombucha, fresh-crafted cocktails made from PA spirits, and incredible Uncle John's Jawns cheesesteaks.

Chris welcomes back his old LION 90.7fm radio partner Mike Levine for a second week to complete their analysis of 2026 Nittany Lions roster. Led by former Penn State corner D'Anton Lynn, who left his post as defensive coordinator at USC to assume the same role under Matt Campbell, this defense looks to blend a combination of homegrown stars with imported Iowa State stalwarts and other transfers. A shift in scheme and philosophy appears set to give the Lions more bulk up front and greater freedom to play fast at all three levels. Mike and Chris take a closer look at the mix of proven playmakers and aspiring stars set to keep Matt Campbell's team in every game.

HOSTED BY: Chris Buchignani

GUEST: Mike Levine

The Obligatory PSU Podcast is brought to you once again this season by Gold Hen, a Penn State alumni-owned company, makers of the truly one-of-a-kind Gold Hen Bloody Mary Mix. Try it today by going to: GoldHenBloodyMary.com

The unique flavor profile of Gold Hen Bloody Mary Mix complements a variety of alcohols and makes an excellent marinade or cooking ingredient. This year, the guys at Gold Hen are teaming up with Landon Tengwall to put a distinctly Penn State spin on their signature product with a special batch of Blue-and-White-themed Gold Hen 58. Stock up for tailgate season today!

At ANTIFRAGILE BREWING CO., the only taproom and brewery located in downtown State College at 324 E. Calder Way, something new is always brewing. In addition to the fantastic beers, you can also enjoy Moody Culture Kombucha, fresh-crafted cocktails made from PA spirits, and incredible Uncle John's Jawns cheesesteaks.

Per Obligatory tradition, Chris enlists the assistance of his fellow LION 90.7fm alum Mike Levine to analyze the 2026 Nittany Lions roster in two installments, beginning with the offense. As undergrads, they brought a handful fo distracted listeners alternative live commentary on such unforgettable Penn State moments as Joe Paterno's record-breaking 324th career win versus Ohio State and such forgettable disappointments as most other games of that 2001 season. Now they unpack the offensive talent set to take the field for Matt Campbell as he begins his tenure in Happy Valley.

Chris and Mike return again next week to break down the defense for Part Two, and then our usual quartet of knuckleheads will be back to face the next day of the rest of Penn State football's life.

HOSTED BY: Chris Buchignani

GUEST: Mike Levine

The Obligatory PSU Podcast is brought to you once again this season by Gold Hen, a Penn State alumni-owned company, makers of the truly one-of-a-kind Gold Hen Bloody Mary Mix. Try it today by going to: GoldHenBloodyMary.com

The unique flavor profile of Gold Hen Bloody Mary Mix complements a variety of alcohols and makes an excellent marinade or cooking ingredient. This year, the guys at Gold Hen are teaming up with Landon Tengwall to put a distinctly Penn State spin on their signature product with a special batch of Blue-and-White-themed Gold Hen 58. Stock up for tailgate season today!

At ANTIFRAGILE BREWING CO., the only taproom and brewery located in downtown State College at 324 E. Calder Way, something new is always brewing. In addition to the fantastic beers, you can also enjoy Moody Culture Kombucha, fresh-crafted cocktails made from PA spirits, and incredible Uncle John's Jawns cheesesteaks.

Time to clear the cache. Penn State doesn't change head football coaches very often, and yet here we are. So before Matt Campbell leads the Nittany Lions out of the tunnel for the first time, we take one final look back at the good (considerable), the bad (undeniable), and the annoying across James Franklin's decade-plus tenure, one that bridged eras for one of college football's winningest programs. We remember the good times, correct the record when necessary, and anticipate how closely we'll watch Virginia Tech this season and beyond.

HOSTED BY: Brandon Noble, Mike "The Mailman" Herr, Kevin Horne, Chris Buchignani

The Obligatory PSU Podcast is brought to you once again this season by Gold Hen, a Penn State alumni-owned company, makers of the truly one-of-a-kind Gold Hen Bloody Mary Mix. Try it today by going to: GoldHenBloodyMary.com

The unique flavor profile of Gold Hen Bloody Mary Mix complements a variety of alcohols and makes an excellent marinade or cooking ingredient. This year, the guys at Gold Hen are teaming up with Landon Tengwall to put a distinctly Penn State spin on their signature product with a special batch of Blue-and-White-themed Gold Hen 58. Stock up for tailgate season today!

Fall camp opens this week. Summer graduation and Campus Move-In are right around the bend. Before you know it, Week Zero will be in the record books, and "Thundering Herd Hate Week" will be upon us. Many inquiring Nittany Lions want to know: Who is this guy set to lead the team out of the tunnel on September 5th?

To gain deeper insight into Penn State's head coach of the future, the guys welcome back Mark Wogenrich, editor and publisher of Penn State on SI, the site for Nittany Lions sports on the Sports Illustrated network. Mark has covered the team dating back to the late Paterno era and has spent time reporting on Coach Campbell's first offseason both in Happy Valley and, recently, Big Ten Media Days in Chicago. He offers perspective on who Campbell seems to be as a coach, communicator, and person and contrasts this latest coaching transition with the prior two, which both occurred under far less conventional circumstances.

HOSTED BY: Brandon Noble, Mike "The Mailman" Herr, Kevin Horne, Chris Buchignani

GUEST: Mark Wogenrich

The Obligatory PSU Podcast will be brought to you once again this season by Gold Hen, a Penn State alumni-owned company, makers of the truly one-of-a-kind Gold Hen Bloody Mary Mix. Try it today by going to: GoldHenLLC.com

The unique flavor profile of Gold Hen Bloody Mary Mix complements a variety of alcohols and makes an excellent marinade or cooking ingredient. This year, the guys at Gold Hen are teaming up with Landon Tengwall to put a distinctly Penn State spin on their signature product with a special batch of Blue-and-White-themed Gold Hen 58.