Penn State faced issues with its communications equipment last week at Wisconsin, to the point that head coach James Franklin said the sideline lost contact with the coordinators and players on the field in the fourth quarter. Coach-to-player communications equipment has become an issue in college football, as ESPN and The Athletic reported Wednesday that Big 12 teams are returning devices to address “technological concerns.”

After practice Wednesday in State College, Franklin said that coaches on the sideline could not connect with cooordinators Andy Kotelnicki and Tom Allen in the press box or quarterback Beau Pribula and middle linebacker Kobe King on the field. Pribula and King wore the in-helmet earpieces, through which coaches relay play calls. Franklin said the blackout occurred in the fourth quarter of the Nittany Lions’ 28-13 win over the Badgers. It’s an issue Penn State will want to fix before Saturday’s game against No. 4 Ohio State at Beaver Stadium.

“Last week at the end of the game, we lost contact with the booth, so we had no contact with the coordinators at the end of the game, we had no ability to communicate with the quarterbacks and the linebackers on the field,” Franklin told reporters. “We’ve been working on that, coming up with a soliution, but we did have a problem at the end of that game at a very critical moment.”

Asked how long the issue persisted, Franklin said, “if it’s one play, it’s too many plays.”

Penn State’s issue was different than those of other programs reporting concerns with the technology. According to The Athletic, Big 12 officials asked teams to return their coach-to-helmet devices because of concerns about encryption. The Athletic reported that teams believe others might be able to listen to their in-game discussions.

Texas Tech Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt told ESPN that he learned his football team’s in-game conversations might be accessible to anyone with a scanner. Hocutt told ESPN that it’s about operating a game “whose integrity is not questionable in any way on a Saturday afternoon.”

Penn State has had issues with its in-helmet communications system this season, though apparently not regarding encryption. In early games at West Virginia and the home-opener against Bowling Green, Franklin said that Penn State’s defense had trouble with the audio. Penn State solved that in part by moving Allen, the defensive coordinator, to the coaches booth and having defensive analyst Dan Connor call plays to the linebacker.

“I think the other thing that’s a big one for us that we got settled in the second half [against Bowling Green] is the communication,” Franklin said in September. “We were trying to rely specifically on the headset communication, and at home that can be a little bit more challenging with the linebacker trying to verbally communicate to all 11 guys on the field. It’s very similar to what I had explained to about-no huddle teams on offense trying to get the quarterback to communicate to everybody. That was still going to be challenging unless you’re huddling.”

This is the first season in which college football teams can use coach-to-player communications equipment to make play calls. Franklin has said that he’s uncertain whether the technology will curb the sign-stealing concerns it was meant to address.

“The interesting thing is, all of this got pushed because of the whole sign-stealing [issue], and for the offenses that are no-huddle, it doesn’t change them at all,” Franklin said before the season. “Because you still have to get the information to the wide receivers. How do you do that? You signal. Do I think we should have had helmet mics? They’re good changes, but I don’t know if they’re necessarily solutions to some of the challenges out there.”

More Penn State Football

Is the Penn State-Ohio State game a must-win for the Nittany Lions?

Penn State fans aren’t happy with another Big Noon kickoff vs. Ohio State

How Ohio State is preparing for the Nittany Lions

Penn State on SI is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on X (or Twitter) @MarkWogenrich.

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (WBAY) – The presidential race is a virtual tie here in the battleground state of Wisconsin — as if it weren’t clear enough from having both Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris Republican former president Donald Trump campaigning in the state on the same days Wednesday and Friday.

The Marquette poll released six days before the election says Harris leads Trump 50 to 49 percent among likely voters, a 1-point difference. Harris had a 4-point lead in the previous poll in late September.

Undecided voters were asked if they would vote for at that moment if they had to choose. The results were unchanged, with 50% choosing Harris, 49% choosing Trump, and 5% saying they couldn’t choose.

Third-party votes

Of course there are other candidates from smaller parties on the ballot. When the poll included them, Harris’ lead grew slightly to lead Trump 46 to 44 percent.

Robert F. Kennedy had support from 5% of respondents, even though he’s no longer in the race, which would more than make up the difference for Trump.

We just reported Tuesday that the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Kennedy’s effort to get off the ballots in Wisconsin and Michigan after withdrawing from the race and endorsing Trump.

The Marquette Law School Poll asked those smaller parties’ supporters who they would vote for if it were only a choice between Trump and Harris.

Their answers indicate Kennedy (We the People Party), Chase Oliver (Libertarian) and Randall Terry (Constitution) might pull votes away from Trump on Election Day.

Jill Stein (Green), Cornel West (independent) and Claudia De la Cruz (Party for Socialism and Liberation) might be pulling votes away from Harris.

Early voting

An interesting twist that could decide the November 5 outcome appeared when voters were asked if they’d already voted or how they plan to vote.

Among those voting early, Trump was supported by 52% and Harris by 47%. But among those voting absentee by mail, Harris had a huge advantage, 70% to Trump’s 30%.

Asked who they think will win in November, regardless of who they voted for, 45% of respondents expect Harris will “definitely” or “probably” win compared to 37% who say it will be Trump being sworn in on January 20.

But pollsters noticed an increasing number of respondents who said they “Don’t Know” who will win this race.

Under Wisconsin law, absentee and early in-person voting ballots are not tabulated until Election Day.

U.S. Senate

The U.S. Senate race is neck-and-neck with Democratic incumbent Sen. Tammy Baldwin leading Republican businessman Eric Hovde 48% to 45%, with the remaining 7% of voters still undecided.

If voters had to choose at that moment, Baldwin’s lead fell 1 point, leading Hovde 51-49, tightening the statistical tie.

Sampling

The Marquette Law School Poll was conducted October 16-24 and interviewed 834 Wisconsin voters.

36% of respondents identified as Republican, 34% as independent, and 31% as Democrat.

October’s poll has a margin of error of 4.4 points.

Copyright 2024 WBAY. All rights reserved.

Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers ― the popular, Louisiana-based fast food chain known for its chicken, Cane’s Sauce and Texas Toast ― will continue expanding in Wisconsin in 2025.

Raising Cane’s opened its first Wisconsin restaurant on downtown Madison’s State Street in 2021 and now has four locations in the state — in Brookfield, Greendale and Kenosha, in addition to Madison.

With at least three more Wisconsin locations in the works, where is Raising Cane’s coming next?

Here’s what to know:

Raising Cane’s is coming to Eau Claire, Janesville and La Crosse

Raising Cane’s will soon open locations in three Wisconsin cities: Eau Claire, Janesville and La Crosse.

According to the company website, the Eau Claire location at 3631 Gateway Drive is set to open on Dec. 3. The Janesville restaurant at 3030 Milton Ave. is expected to follow on Jan. 14.

Raising Cane’s has also recently secured a site in the La Crosse area for a restaurant scheduled to open next summer, a company representative told the Journal Sentinel. There are multiple job listings on the Raising Cane’s careers site for a restaurant at State 16 and Braund Street in Onalaska, just outside of La Crosse.

Finally, according to a previous Journal Sentinel article, Raising Cane’s plans to open a restaurant in Oak Creek in December 2025, but the exact address has yet to be finalized.

Is Raising Cane’s coming to Milwaukee?

While the Raising Cane’s representative didn’t provide any concrete plans for expansion into Milwaukee, she did express the company’s interest in coming to the city.

“At Raising Cane’s, we’re always looking for vibrant communities where we can make a meaningful impact, and the greater Milwaukee area fits that description perfectly,” she said.

“We’re excited to bring our passionate team and crave-able menu to more of the Milwaukee area and continue growing in this amazing state.”

Raising Cane’s opened three Wisconsin restaurants in the past year

Raising Cane’s recently opened three locations in southeastern Wisconsin. In December, the Kenosha restaurant at 6303 75th St. opened its doors.

Then, over the summer, two restaurants opened in the Milwaukee suburbs. Raising Cane’s Greendale at 5250 S. 76th St. opened July 30 with a grand opening event and a free food giveaway. The Greendale location was first proposed in March 2023.

Next, the Brookfield restaurant at 12660 W. Capitol Drive opened Sept. 5 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and more giveaways.

How many Raising Cane’s restaurants are there?

Raising Cane’s has locations in nearly every U.S. state, as well as in Guam and Washington D.C. The company representative said the chain is set to open 100 restaurants in 2024, marking the first year it will open that many.

By year’s end, Raising Cane’s will have nearly 900 restaurants. According to the representative, the chain plans to open about 100 additional locations in 2025.