The sun will set tonight at 7:52 p.m. Last Tuesday, in fact, was the last time the sun will set after 8 p.m. until sometime next spring.

Many of us are starting to sleep with the windows open at night, and I recently began donning a hoodie for my nightly walks with my beagle, Max.

Pumpkin spice lattes are available.

Gone are the days of strawberry picking photos on these news pages. In fact, it’s only a matter of weeks until we are publishing photos of pumpkin patches.

Soon we will be raking fallen leaves and then moving the snow blower from the back of the shed to the garage.

OK, I might be getting ahead of myself.

Before we get to that point, we have plenty of high school and college football to get through.

If you’re a local football fan, like so many of our readers are, the Tribune Chronicle and The Vindicator now are offering new ways to get info on local high school teams as well as the Youngstown State Penguins.

Our sports department, headed by our local Sports Editor Greg Macafee, has launched a wonderful new set of podcasts in which members of our team that bring you our in-depth coverage each week now gather to discuss and audio record lengthy discussions about Mahoning Valley rivalries, standout performances from the previous week and expectations for the week ahead.

The newspapers’ sports writers demonstrate their in-depth knowledge of the local teams, as well as the skills and performances of local players by name. But that isn’t all that makes the recordings enjoyable. The reporters’ conversational approach and light attitudes, I think, make the podcasts very easy to listen to.

As Ohio’s high school football already enters its fourth week (hard to believe, I know), three podcasts of “Sideline Chatter” already have been recorded and released. The latest podcast, released last week, is titled “The Year of the Quarterback” and delves into the arms and skills of some local QBs leading their teams.

Next, starting this week, a separate college football podcast, Ice Cap Insights, also will kick off. Macafee and Penguins beat reporter Joel Whetzel will examine everything in Youngstown State athletics, including the Missouri Valley Football Conference, and then Horizon League competition in other YSU sports.

The approximately 45-minute recordings are released by Thursday of each week, in advance of the upcoming slate of games. The podcasts are available for listening by clicking the buttons found on www.tribtoday.com or www.vindy.com, or going to iTunes, Spotify or anywhere you typically get your podcasts.

In addition, in keeping with the football coverage tradition of our newspapers, we also will be previewing the upcoming college football games each week with in-depth looks at the YSU Penguins football team on the locally produced Penguin Page each Thursday and the Buckeye Page each Saturday.

As always, the full-page layouts will include a look at the roster for each team and their opponents, a glance at stats, a recap from the previous week and what to watch for this week, whether fans are planning to watch the college games on TV or in the stands at the YSU Ice Castle or the Horseshoe in Columbus.

The Penguin and Buckeye pages have been a consistent fan favorite each week during the college football season for many years.

And, of course, if you miss any of the Penguin or Buckeye action, you’ll be able to read all about it at www.tribtoday.com, or at www.vindy.com or in the newspaper’s print editions, on newsstands or in your paperbox very early the next morning.

If Thursday night’s nail biter of a “Backyard Brawl” between Pitt and W.V.U. are any indication of the upcoming college football season, we all have lots to look forward to this fall.

Yes, the season of leaf raking and cool nights is about to arrive. But along with it also comes the season for some football.

Linert is editor of the Tribune Chronicle and The Vindicator.

blinert@tribtoday.com