W
hile working to compile my Penn
State all-decade team, I was fre-
quently reminded during the past
few weeks that the Nittany Lion teams
from 2010 to 2019 hold a special place in
my heart. I don't think I'm the only fol-
lower of the PSU football program who
feels that way.
When the NCAA placed its onerous
sanctions on the program in July 2012,
sportswriters across the country said en
masse that it might be a decade or more
before the Nittany Lions would have a
team that was worthy of Top 25 consid-
eration. If you had watched ESPN or read
the national commentary in the a
