Blue White Illustrated

A cure for what ails U. NAT E   BAU E R | NBAUER@BLUEWHITEONLINE.COM Bill O'Brien has a treasure trove of sayings that shape his coaching philosophies and, generally, his outlook on many of life's questions. Specifically, this season, the Nittany Lions' second-year head coach has referred to winning as saltwater because "it cures a lot of ills. Most recently, he " dropped the line after the overtime thriller against Michigan. Though O'Brien leans on his own cliches – he'd admit it, too – none manifest themselves as frequently as his salt water saying. So can O'Brien and the Nittany Lions walk off the field as winners in Columbus? Often a little salty, to put it mildly, following losses, the extremely competitive O'Brien simply needs the lifted burden of a win to let his inner-social butterfly spread its wings. Though any number of other factors can contribute to the atmosphere of one of O'Brien's O C T O B E R weekly press conferences, the interactions between media and head coach are most notably influenced by the result of the Nittany Lions' last game. Case in point, at his presser Tuesday he was thoughtful, humorous and exceedingly engaging. In other words, O'Brien was absolutely at his best. But his focus is still set on Saturday's matchup with Ohio State. "You think about what that means in the history of college football and these two teams playing each other and the tradition of both schools and two great coaching staffs with a lot of good players on both sides of the ball, he said. " "It's a lot of fun. Game day, that's the best day of the week for me. " Likewise, the media members covering the team deserve credit for the atmosphere Tuesday afternoon. The thankless job of asking specifics to a head coach who, for competitive 2 3 , 2 0 1 3 16 reasons, often refuses to give all the details, can lead to butting heads between media and coach. While there are times when a straightforward question must be asked, a more creative approach or open-ended question can lead to the more insightful moments of a coach whom Penn State fans and media are really still just getting to know. From his thoughts on using the media depth chart as a tool to motivate players (he does, kind of), to how walk-on tryouts work at Penn State (note to prospective run-ons: don't schedule afternoon classes in the fall), to his thoughts on the Buckeyes as a true rival (with no bowl game, especially at Penn State, every opponent is a true rival right now). Unless it has to do with who is starting running back , or the specifics of a certain injury, he'll talk about details and provide otherwise unseen insight. Whether the Nittany Lions have what it takes to deal the Buckeyes their first loss in 20 games remains to be seen, but the O'Brien era is rolling forward with a sense of purpose and optimism. Thank the saltwater. BL UEW HI T EON L I N E. COM

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