The Obligatory PSU Podcast
Episodes
SPRING '21 Episode 21: Penn State NFL Draft Wrap-up w/ Sheil Kapadia
04 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Six Penn State Nittany Lions were taken in the 2021 NFL Draft, with linebacker Micah Parsons and edge rusher Odafe (Jayson) Oweh going in the first ro...
SPRING '21 Episode 20: Penn State in the NFL Draft w/ ESPN's Matt Bowen
28 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Which Nittany Lions will hear their names called (and when) in the 2021 NFL Draft? ESPN pro football analyst Matt Bowen joins the show to evaluate Pen...
SPRING '21 Episode 19: Blue-White Redux Review
27 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Why have one real Blue-White Weekend when you can hold two fake ones instead? Well, for plenty of reasons, of course, but after the last 12 months, yo...
SPRING '21 Episode 18: Penn State alum Rob Lawless (Rob's 10k Friends)
23 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After graduating from Penn State in 2013 with a degree in Finance, Rob Lawless began work at the global consulting firm Deloitte, later moving on to s...
SPRING '21 Episode 17: Penn State Scrimmage Summary w/ Nubyjas Wilborn
20 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Only freshmen and reporters were allowed inside Beaver Stadium for what turned out to be the first of two Fake Blue-White Saturdays (with the next to ...
SPRING '21 Episode 16: Penn State Spring Roster Review
16 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Fake Blue-White Saturday is upon us, so why not mark the occasion by squeezing the last droplets of #content from a traditionally substance-free weeke...
SPRING '21 Episode 15: Penn State Spring Football Stories #2
13 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
More feeding the #content-starved beast with morsels of news and insight plumbed from the depths of Penn State Spring Football coach and player interv...
SPRING '21 Episode 14: Penn State Spring Football Stories #1
09 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Spring football is back in Happy Valley for the first time in nearly two years, and for a program that struggled mightily through 2020 without the ben...
SPRING '21 Episode 13: The NCAA on Trial
02 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What a mess. For many years now (and several decades prior, really), the NCAA and its member schools have been losing ground in their seemingly-hopele...
SPRING '21 Episode 12: Penn State Reporter Mark Wogenrich, SI.com
30 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
SI.com's Penn State reporter Mark Wogenrich returns to the show to talk about the transition from the bad, fake season of 2020 to the critical offseas...
SPRING '21 Episode 11: Jeff "Ironhead" Byers, Voice of Penn State Wrestling
23 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Despite falling just shy of the overall team championship at the 2021 NCAA Wrestling Tournament, Penn State's second-place finish included a spectacul...
SPRING '21 Episode 10: David Eckert of Blue White Illustrated (Penn State Hockey, Hoops+)
19 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Blue White Illustrated's resident jack of all trades David Eckert visits the show to talk about the present and future for Penn State's men's basketba...
SPRING '21 Episode 9: Penn State Letterman Brandon Noble (Part 2)
16 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Brandon continues recounting his football journey, this time focusing on his two seasons as a full-time starter for Penn State. These years spanned a ...
SPRING '21 Episode 8: Penn State Letterman Brandon Noble (Part 1 Redux)
12 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Re-releasing Part One of our interview with Obligatory co-host Brandon Noble (originally published in August 2019) in advance of the all-new second in...
SPRING '21 Episode 7: Penn State's Promising Winter
09 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Although adversity of all kinds plagued the Nittany Lions last season on their way to a historic 0-5 start, hope is on the horizon and help is on the ...
SPRING '21 Episode 6: Facilities Follies
03 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Water slides and flight simulators for all. Penn State's plan to spend millions on renovations and upgrades to the Lasch football building created a s...
SPRING '21 Episode 5: Penn State's 2020 Good & Bad, Part 2
04 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
If nothing else, the wild fake season of 2020 was history-making for the Penn State Nittany Lions, in ways both awful (0-5) and terrific (900 wins). F...
SPRING '21 Episode 4: Penn State's 2020 Good & Bad, Part 1
29 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
2020 was a year like none other for all of us, so it only makes sense that it was historic in all the wrong ways for James Franklin and the Penn State...
SPRING '21 Episode 3: Penn State Offense Past & Future w/ For The Blogy
20 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The guys welcome in Coach Nick Codutti of ForTheBlogy.com to talk about the past and future of Penn State's offense under James Franklin. All season l...
SPRING '21 Episode 2: Penn State Hires OC Mike Yurcich
09 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In a genuinely shocking power move, James Franklin relieved first-year offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca of his duties as Penn State's offensive co...
SPRING '21 Episode 1: Penn State Portal Plunder
06 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
And we're back. After enjoying some time off for the holidays (just like Penn State), the guys return to wrap up the 2020 bowl season and dig into the...
FALL '20 Episode 33: State College isn't "Bowls-burg"
21 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
So that's that. You can close the book on Penn State's 2020 fake season. Unlike many teams across the country and most of their Big Ten peers, the Nit...
FALL '20 Episode 32: Recruiting, Illinois & the Big Ten are Dumb
17 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The snow is falling in Happy Valley for early National Signing Day. In a year in which the Nittany Lions gave their fans plenty of reasons to worry ab...
FALL '20 Episode 31: Threeve
15 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Is this ostensibly the "Michigan State wrap-up show?" Yes. Does the conversation eventually meander its way back to some discussion of Penn State's 39...
FALL '20 Episode 30: Penn State Going for 901
10 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Well, it has been, as they'd say in days of yore, "a long, strange trip," but we are finally coming down to the last weeks of 2020 and its suitably bi...
FALL '20 Episode 29: Silent Knights
08 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It wasn't always pretty, and in the end, it was, after all, only Rutgers, but dammit, in a season full of misery and disappointment, the "surging" Nit...
FALL '20 Episode 28: Must We Discuss Rutgers?
03 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Penn State hits the road for a second straight week in search of a win that will resonate in the moment and for eternity - a badly-needed follow-up to...
FALL '20 Episode 27: Michigan Man? Handled.
30 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the name of all that is holy and good, rejoice and give thanks! Your Penn State Nittany Lions are no longer winless for this horrendous 2020 campai...
FALL '20 Episode 26.2: And Michigan Still Sucks
26 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What is our possibly-brilliant nickname and gimmick for this game on Saturday? You'll just have to listen and find out. It's a special holiday-week bo...
FALL '20 Episode 26.1: Nubyjas Wilborn, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
25 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this installment, the guys welcome in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Penn State reporter Nubyjas Wilborn, who first met Kevin when they both travele...
FALL '20 Episode 25: Historic Futility
22 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to the new normal. We now live in a world where a Penn State football team has begun a season with five consecutive losses, a dubious historic...
FALL '20 Episode 24: Corn Belted
18 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this special mid-week Corn Belt Omnibus edition of Obligatory, the guys look back on another frustrating Saturday, as the Penn State's trip to Linc...
FALL '20 Episode 23: Centre Film Festival & Nebraska
12 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Nittany Lions may be reeling at 0-3, but there's always a lot to celebrate here in Happy Valley. The guys take a break from the doom and gloom of ...
FALL '20 Episode 22: Embarrassing Garbage
08 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Already teetering on the brink of collapse at 0-2, the Penn State Nittany Lions are now fully circling the drain after a tragic 35-19 home loss to the...
FALL '20 Episode 21: Talking Penn State w/ Ben Jones of StateCollege.com
06 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Ben Jones, Penn State beat reporter for StateCollege.com, joins the guys to talk about the experience of covering Nittany Lions football in a global p...
FALL '20 Episode 20: Ohio State Autopsy w/ Donnie Collins, Scranton Times-Tribune
03 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, the guys break down a clash of legendary titans in Happy Valley. But after discussing the Fantasy Flavor League's concluding matchup ...
FALL '20 Episode 19: Ohio State Visits Spooky Valley
30 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
If Penn State hosts a night game and no fans are there to see it, is it still a White Out? Like everything else on the carnival ride from Hell called ...
FALL '20 Episode 18: We Lost to Indiana
26 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Well, we asked for Big Ten football in 2020, and we got it. A classic case of "Be careful what you wish for." What can you say about a program with pl...
FALL '20 Episode 17: Indiana, Indiana (and Pat Chambers)
22 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Pat Chambers tosses the Penn State news cycle into appropriate-for-2020 chaos by resigning only days before the long-delayed start of the football sea...
FALL '20 Episode 16: Penn State Roster Breakdown (Defense)
16 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Friend of the show Mike Levine returns, joining Chris to break down the Penn State Nittany Lions defense by position (reuniting the LION 90.7fm's 200...
FALL '20 Episode 15: Penn State Roster Breakdown (Offense)
13 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Chris enlists the assistance of friend and fellow LION 90.7fm alum Mike Levine to analyze the 2020 Penn State roster in two installments, beginning wi...
FALL '20 Episode 14: Blur Your Russell Athletics Logo
09 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Penn State Athletics has put out the call for fan-generated videos to use inside Beaver Stadium and on social media. Chris is ready to start filming; ...
FALL '20 Episode 13: Franklin's Great Hires, O'Brien Fired w/ Chad Washington
06 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Week 2 of the Penn State Berkey Creamery's Fantasy Flavor League kicks off with a playoff-worthy matchup of Cookies 'n Cream versus Chocolate Chip Co...
FALL '20 Episode 12: Storylines for Penn State's 2020
02 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It's October. We're getting real, live Penn State football this month! With the season approaching, Chris, Kevin, and Mailman kick around some potenti...
FALL '20 Episode 11: A College Offense Explosion?
29 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It's a grab bag of Penn State and college football topics as we get closer to once again enjoying Nittany Lions football Saturdays. James Franklin and...
FALL '20 Episode 10: Eating Ice Cream & Opting In
25 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The guys wrap up the conversation on college football recruiting, preview the Penn State Berkey Creamery's Fantasy Flavor League by dissecting the rec...
FALL '20 Episode 9: Penn State Football Recruiting w/ Ryan Snyder, Blue White Illustrated
22 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Like it or not, recruiting is what separates the great from the elite in college football, and no less authoritative a source on Penn State's recruiti...
FALL '20 Episode 8: Penn State Football Escapes Limbo
18 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It may have taken some time, a lot of confusion, frustration, and a few false starts (and it may not even be a very wise idea!), but Penn State footba...
FALL '20 Episode 7: To Play, Or Not to Play?
15 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Does anyone have even the vaguest clue what is happening with Big Ten football in 2020? Doesn't seem like it. Not the cast of The Obligatory PSU Podca...
FALL '20 Episode 6: Undrafted Nittany Lion to NFL Vet
11 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With the NFL season upon us, the guys follow up on the last show about former Penn State players who survived cuts to make a professional roster by gi...
FALL '20 Episode 5: Penn Staters in the NFL feat. Chris Adamski
08 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When James Franklin arrived at Penn State, he listed preparing his players for a shot at the NFL among his top goals, and the program has had great su...
FALL '20 Episode 4: Penn State Game Day Rituals
04 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
After plowing through the festering heap of college football "news" from this week - from unsolicited phone calls from the POTUS to unfounded Twitter ...
FALL '20 Episode 3: Why All the Big Ten Secrecy?
01 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Thanks to pretrial action for a lawsuit that presumably stands little chance of actually succeeding in court, we can finally confirm that there was, i...
FALL '20 Episode 2: Classic Nonsense
28 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What better time for a classic Obligatory digression than the pretend start of a non-existent football season? As the gang assembles (like The Avenger...
FALL '20 Episode 1: Countdown to Remote at Penn State?
25 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Place your bets. Mike the Mailman sets the official Obligatory over/under on weeks until Penn State becomes the latest to make the move to remote lear...
SUMMER '20 Episode 16: College Sports Chaos w/ Dr. R. Scott Kretchmar
21 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Some technical issues held up release of this latest episode, recorded literally as the first news of the Big Ten season's cancellation reached the pu...
SUMMER '20 Episode 15: Fake Schedules & No Fans feat. Thomas Frank Carr
07 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The first week of August brought more Penn State and college football news than we've had in like three months - from the release of the Nittany Lions...
SUMMER '20 Episode 14: A Ticket to Ride
04 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Enough of these wide-ranging conversations with interesting guests; time to get back to the basics of Obligatory. With Brandon Noble off for the day, ...
SUMMER '20 Episode 13: Mark Wogenrich, Sports Illustrated
31 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn Sate football since 1999, as the long-time Nittany Lions beat reporter for The Morning Call in Allentown, Pennsylvania...
SUMMER '20 Episode 12: Let's Talk Penn State
21 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It's never a bad time to welcome in the hosts of our sister podcast "Let's Talk Penn State." Steve Garguilo and Tim Buckley join the show to talk abou...
SUMMER '20 Episode 11: Chad Washington, PSUHouston.org
17 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A Texas native, Chad Washington picked Penn State site unseen after meeting a campus recruiter. After arriving in Happy Valley, he experienced snow, w...
SUMMER '20 Episode 10: College Players Retro #1
14 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With decades of passionate Penn State fandom and, in the case of Brandon Noble, five years wearing the Blue and White followed by a decade in the pros...
SUMMER '20 Episode 9: "Sunshine" Shane McGregor
10 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Shining a ray of Sunshine into dark times. Shane McGregor, who is easily Happy Valley's most recognizable and beloved scout team quarterback, thoughtf...
SUMMER '20 Episode 8: Extra Points with Matt Brown
07 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
College football author and journalist Matt Brown (not to be confused with State College's own college football author and journalist Matt Brown) spec...
SUMMER '20 Episode 7: Decoding Sandy Barbour
03 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In this extended holiday weekend episode, the Obligatory crew welcomes back Chris "Buzzsaw" Adamski of TribLive.com to break down and analyze the care...
SUMMER '20 Episode 6: Penn State Alumni Assoc. CEO Paul Clifford
30 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In 2020, the Penn State Alumni Association - the largest dues-paying college alumni association in the world - celebrates 150 years of connecting Penn...
SUMMER '20 Episode 5: Happy Valley Retro #1
24 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the best of times, a nostalgic walk back down State College's version of memory lane is an enjoyable distraction. These days, after months of quara...
SUMMER '20 Episode 4: Good Coach, Bad Losses
19 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Who knows what the Beaver Stadium attendance policy will look like come this Fall? As the cast's optimism levels about ticket availability continue to...
SUMMER '20 Episode 3: Why Prepare?
16 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Plans. Everybody has them, as Mike Tyson once said, until they start getting punched in the face. Well, "everybody" except maybe Noble, Chris, Kevin, ...
SUMMER '20 Episode 2: Penn State, The Playoffs & the Agony of "Almost"
12 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There's something to be said for 5 to 15 in the college football rankings as the most miserable, polarizing, and frustrating zone to inhabit in all of...
SUMMER '20 Episode 1: Oasis of Nonsense in the Desert of Awful
04 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Everything is confusing, uncertain, and, for the most part, terrible. In such volatile times, the Obligatory crew retrenches to the one thing for whic...
SPRING '20 Episode 18: Football? Football.
29 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
After many weeks of mostly pessimism over the fate of college football in 2020, the dark clouds seems to be quickly parting, and now at least a somewh...
SPRING '20 Episode 17: Booze & Quarantine w/ Kirk French
19 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Always a welcome guest on any Obligatory property, Penn State's resident professor of “Booze and Culture” Dr. Kirk French, who was recently honore...
SPRING '20 Episode 16: (Olive) Garden of Earthly Delights
12 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The things we do for breadsticks... In this installment of the podcast, a full episode's worth of the sort of absurdity that could only emerge from ou...
SPRING '20 Episode 15: Penn State Memories
08 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The live experience of college football sets it apart from most other sports. There are few other settings where you can experience something as thril...
SPRING '20 Episode 14: Fiesta, Fires & Fritz
05 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
For many Penn State fans, one of the highlights of the entire quarantine came last week when NBC Sports replayed the 1987 Fiesta Bowl, Penn State's dr...
SPRING '20 Episode 13: Nonsense & NIL
01 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Before launching our upcoming multi-episode look back at great Penn State football from the past, the guys take a customary spin through all manner of...
SPRING '20 Episode 12: Penn State & the NFL Draft
21 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In a time when the sports world has been turned completely upside down, the NFL Draft continues on undeterred (even though it will be on Zoom), and se...
SPRING '20 Episode 11: PSU Barstool Viceroy Derek Shuman
17 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Derek Shuman is a Penn State senior who has been the viceroy (i.e. Editor-in-Chief) of Penn State Barstool for most of his college career, a time peri...
SPRING '20 Episode 10: "Penn State fans are average" & Other Heresies
14 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What better time to stir the pot than during a global quarantine? With all four of the Obligatory cast back together again, the guys take on some sacr...
SPRING '20 Episode 9: Is Bill O'Brien Hurting His Reputation?
10 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Time spent alone with your thoughts (and without any sports) during quarantine affords the opportunity to ponder the answers to life's big questions. ...
SPRING '20 Episode 8: TribLive's Chris "Buzzsaw" Adamski
07 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Perhaps no two-year span in the history of Penn State football held a greater combination of good, bad, unforgettable, regrettable, remarkable, and co...
SPRING '20 Episode 7: Postcards from the Edge
03 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Another week spent sheltering at home, and we can happily report that Mike the Mailman is safe and sound. In this episode, the gang fields Twitter que...
SPRING '20 Episode 6: Quarantine Blues
27 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Nobody wants to be the one who infected Mike the Mailman with coronavirus, so social distancing it is. For the first time in a long time, the full cas...
SPRING '20 Episode 5: THON Mail Call & More
21 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Way back in 1989, Penn State students first invited an increasingly-recognizable campus postal worker to deliver mail to the dancers at the annual Dan...
SPRING '20 Episode 4: Unsolved Murders at Penn State
14 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Most Penn Staters have heard of the unsolved murder in the Pattee Library stacks, but few know the whole story. This week, the guys sit down with true...
SPRING '20 Episode 3: Ben Jones of StateCollege.com
02 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Ben Jones is a Happy Valley native who launched onto the scene as an on-the-ground student reporter during the early days of the Sandusky scandal and ...
SPRING '20 Episode 2: Penn State Hoops & Hockey w/ David Eckert of BWI
22 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The new year is bringing what may be one of best Winter/Spring sports seasons for Penn State in many years; the men's ice hockey team is ranked in the...
SPRING '20 Episode 1: 2019 Nittany Lions in Review
14 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Back again, and still better than nothing. #Obligatory kicks off its 2020 podcasting season with a look back at 2019. Penn State entered the season on...
FALL '19 Episode 13: Bowling for Roses (or Orange Cotton)
05 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Penn State's path to Pasadena still looks open after the final week of the regular season, but did a decidedly lackluster showing at home versus lowly...
FALL '19 Episode 12: Moral Victory Formation
25 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The Nittany Lions traveled to Columbus and, as the script called for, left in defeat. The manner in which they were defeated however - by a comparativ...
FALL '19 Episode 11: Social Media is Worse than Ohio State
20 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Over the last several years, Penn State and Ohio State have played in some of the most entertaining and memorable games in all of college football, an...
FALL '19 Episode 10: Gopher Broke
12 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Twenty years ago, the undefeated Penn State Nittany Lions, anchored by a stifling defense and led by a generational linebacker wearing number 11, had ...
FALL '19 Episode 9: On Number Four and Franklin's Future
08 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Fresh off witnessing Penn State men's basketball's successful season opening victory (and 31.5-point cover) versus the Maryland College of Interior De...
FALL '19 Episode 8: "Iron Lions" Exec Producer Bob Morgan
01 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In the Fall of 2012, dark shadows loomed long over the Nittany Valley - pain, anger, confusion, uncertainty - and in the midst of this unprecedented t...
FALL '19 Episode 7: Sparty Vanquished
28 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The Michigan State Spartans have enjoyed unprecedented success against Penn State in recent years, finding new and awful ways to torture James Frankli...
FALL '19 Episode 6: The Agony of Victory
22 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The Michigan Wolverines, a team that has tormented Penn State throughout much of its Big Ten-ure (sorry), rolled into Happy Valley for a prime time Wh...
FALL '19 Episode 5: The Pitt Rivalry Bites the Dust
10 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Or, The Early Offensive Lamentations of 2019What to take from Penn State's 45-13 victory over the Buffalo Bulls? While the final score may look like a...
FALL '19 Episode 4: Keith "Goon" Conlin & the 1994 Nittany Lions
06 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Or, The best PG stories of college football's greatest offenseThe Penn State-Buffalo game marks the University's official celebration of the 1994 unde...
FALL '19 Episode 3: Parking, Idaho & Gambling
02 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Or, Mike the Mailman's Insider Info - Only $2.95/minute!You can only learn so much from a football game where the final score is 79-7, but Kevin, Ch...