Stock Up, Stock Down (9.8.26)

Stock Up, Stock Down (9.8.26)

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Stock Up, Stock Down (9.8.26)
ANN ARBOR, MI – SEPTEMBER 05: An official reviews a play where Michigan Wolverines quarterback Bryce Underwood (not pictured) threw a Hail Mary pass out the end zone with time expired during the fourth quarter of a regular season non-conference college football game between the Western Michigan Broncos and the Michigan Wolverines on September 5, 2026 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The play review determined that Michigan would be granted an additional play with one second added to the play clock. Michigan Wolverines quarterback Bryce Underwood (not pictured) threw a Hail Mary pass the was caught in the end zone by Michigan Wolverines wide receiver JJ Buchanan (not pictured) to win the game,(Photo by Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

We are back for another season of Stock Up, Stock Down. For those new, I use this post to focus in on one maybe two Penn State topics, but try to use it for bigger picture college football stories.

STOCK UP

Penn State Wide Receivers

It was just five years ago that we were watching Jahan Dotson, and just four years ago we had Parker Washington and Mitchell Tinsley. But, man, with how Penn State’s wide receivers have performed since then — especially in the biggest games — those days feel like decades ago. Saturday offered some renewed hopefully that *finally* the wide receiver corps would be a good one. Koby Howard had 6 receptions for 161 yards and 1 touchdown. Brett Eskildsen had 5 receptions for 48 yards. Chase Sowell tossed in 2 receptions for 33 yards. Zay Robinson had just 1 catch, but it went for 37 yards and a touchdown.

While the focus for these guys should be this season, the really exciting part is that youth in this group. Sowell is out of eligibility after this season, but Howard and Robinson have 3 more years left after 2026, while Eskildsen has two more. It’s a young unit that produced on Saturday, and hopefully, will continue to produce the rest of the way.

Bob Chesney & UCLA

The sneaky underrated most intriguing game of the day on Saturday was UCLA going to Cal. Two programs that once shared a conference but now finds themselves in similar situations, breaking in new head coaches who come with plenty of pedigree. For Cal, it’s former Golden Bear lettermen Tosh Lupoi, a Nick Saban acolyte who did a great job as Dan Lanning’s DC at Oregon. He’s coached all over the place — in the real Pac-12, the Big Ten, the SEC, and the NFL — and is now as a dynamic recruiter. He’ll have the program in Berkley turned around in no time.

But on Saturday, it was all about Chesney and the Bruins. Chesney should be a familiar name around these parts given his PA roots and the fact his name was in the mix for the Penn State job last season. He brought in a ton of James Madison transfers to UCLA, which it turns out is *still* looking like a winning recipe. UCLA won in Berkley on Saturday night 45-24, behind a dominant 277-yard rushing attack.

The Indiana and Cignetti comps will get made, but take a look at UCLA’s schedule:

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Is 7-1 UCLA out of the realm of possibility? Those last four games could get a little squirrely with the road trips to Minnesota and Michigan in November, but the James Madison-to-B1G pipeline might be working its magic again.

STOCK DOWN

The Big Ten

The Big Ten has had the last three national champions in the sport, but this opening weekend probably wasn’t what commissioner Tony Petitti was dreaming up when he hasn’t been busy forcing down a 24-team College Football Playoff that quite literally none of the fans wants.

Rutgers started the conference off with an absolute dud of a performance, getting WHACKED by a UMass program that went winless last season.

Michigan State trailed Toledo 20-19 in the fourth quarter, nearly giving the Big Ten another loss to a MAC program.

Oregon, the second ranked team in the country, trailed Boise State for much of the game in Autzen.

On Sunday, Wisconsin got shellacked by Notre Dame while Washington struggled to pull away from the fake Pac-12 program Washington State.

And Michigan. Oh, Michigan.

The Wolverines were granted a phantom second after their first hail mary attempt went awry and zeroes filled the clock, and so far the Big Ten’s explanation for where the second came from is: “We have our own super secret clock that the players, coaches, and fans don’t see. Haha. No big deal. Don’t ask any questions. Just be cool lol.”

Whether it’s blatant cheating by the conference or convenient incompetence by the conference, I’m not sure. But the end result of all this being “the clock we all use isn’t actually official” is a dreadful look. I can only say, moving forward, I hope this benefits Penn State in some way because we’ve always been burned once by an added second.

Florida State’s Electrical System

I am writing this at 10:15 p.m. EST on Monday night. The Florida State/SMU game was supposed to kickoff around 7:30 p.m. EST. Instead, the game was delayed nearly two hours because parts of Doak Campbell Stadium lost power.

The game did finally kickoff around 9:10 p.m., but it’s currently the middle of the second quarter. SMU just scored a touchdown to make it 14-7 with 5:35 left before halftime. I hope the Mustangs hold on — yours truly has SMU -2.5.

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