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or commentator, Matt Millen, likewise thought Robinson should have come down with the ball. "This is on Allen Robinson, " Millen declared during the broadcast. "That should have been caught. That should have been six. If you're a great player, you make the great play." Of course, Robinson doesn't just want to be great. He wants to be the best. Two plays later, he was given another shot at winning the game. The pass found him in the middle of the end zone, but like the previous attempt, this one, too, fell incomplete. Michigan safety Jarrod Wilson was called for pass interference, however, and while the penalty set up Belton's winning touchdown one play later, the replay showed another exceedingly catchable ball simply slipping through the hands of one of the nation's top receivers. While the Nittany Lions basked in their thrilling victory against the Wolverines, the plays that Robinson didn't make are the ones he continues to think about. "They stick with me rather than the positive things," he said. "I'm just trying to always improve and always be the best. That pushes me the most, just wanting to be the best." By nearly every conceivable standard, Robinson's name has been in the thick of that conversation this season. Through six games, he was leading the Nittany Lions in every receiving category, having amassed 43 catches for 705 yards (16.4 yards per catch) and five touchdowns. Suspended for the first half of Penn State's season opener against Syracuse due to an unspecified violation of team rules, he immediately bounced back, hauling in a 25-yard reception, then a 51-yard touchdown on his first two plays of the year. He went on to surpass 100 yards in all but two of Penn State's first six games, including a 12-catch, 173-yard effort at Indiana. Averaging 117.5 receiving yards through the first half of the season, Robinson was leading all wideouts in the Big Ten and checked in at No. 10 in the nation. His 7.2 receptions per game were also tops in the conference and 14th-best nationally, while his five touchdowns ranked second in the conference and were tied for No. 21 nationally. For his efforts, Robinson was named a second-team Mid-season All-American by both CBSsports.com and Phil Steele's College Football, and he was on Steele's first-team All-Big Ten squad. What's more, he was among the leading candidates at midseason for the Biletnikoff Award, which goes to the nation's top receiver. From coach on down, Lions remain a bunch of fighters he Blue Band finished playing the alma mater, a crowd of excited students in Beaver Stadium's south end zone roared, and Penn State head coach Bill O'Brien walked away from the hugs and high-fives of his team for a moment. His eyes red with emotion, O'Brien raised both arms, clenched his fists, and with one right-hand overhead punch to the air, sent a knockout blow to the frustrations that had been building for months. Winners of a thrilling 43-40 quadruple-overtime heavyweight battle against No. 18 Michigan, O'Brien and his Nittany Lions showed both the exhaustion and exuberance of a program that has borne more than its fair share of emotional and physical scars this season. "It just says a lot about our kids, a very resilient bunch of kids who care T about each other and really love playing for Penn State, O'Brien said. " "They love this place, they know it means a lot to them and their lives, and they just keep fighting hard for this place. " O'Brien wasn't speaking solely about his players. For a place that has been enmeshed in a civil war ever since Jerry Sandusky's unspeakable acts came to light nearly two years ago, the scene at Beaver Stadium on Oct. 12 was a reminder of what once was. Describing O'Brien's nearly twoyear tenure at Penn State as "complicated" or "love-hate" would be reductive, but the challenges of the past few months have been particularly frustrating for the second-year head coach, even with the sanctionrelated storm clouds seemingly rolling away. Coming off the 2012 season, which began as a fight for survival and ended in a rush of giddy excitement, expectations for success have risen while the number of healthy scholarship athletes on the roster has dwindled. On the field, Penn State suffered a nightmarish series of injuries in its opener against Syracuse. It played poorly at Indiana and fell to 3-2 on the season. The simple challenge of winning from week to week is daunting enough, and at Penn State, those on-field challenges have been accompanied by an ongoing off-field drama involving the NCAA, the Big Ten, the board of trustees, alumni and fans, whose in-fighting has continued unabated. One can understand how an admittedly moody O'Brien could begin to feel claustrophobic at the Lasch Building. Many Penn State players were feel-

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