When Penn State entered its 2024-25 season, it was a new year with some new faces.
Despite those new aspects, the Nittany Lions have continued to be plagued by the same problem that’s hindered them for years: Their inability to consistently close out games.
Before the season, coach Mike Rhoades spoke on building “sustainable success” at Penn State. However, after losing several winnable games, the first task to building that success has to be fixing the team’s late-game struggles.
When Penn State loses, it’s typically in a very cookie-cutter fashion. The Nittany Lions overcome a second-half deficit to come close to or retake the lead but make key mistakes when it matters most, leading to a loss.