Blue White Illustrated

Some of those wins rank among the season's high points, while that blowout loss – a 63-14 defeat at Ohio State – was a dreary low. But considering that they sometimes dressed 30 fewer scholarship players than their opponent, there were a lot of bright spots for the Nittany Lions. "On July 22, 2012, things changed because of what happened with the sanctions," O'Brien said. "To be where we are right now, could we be better? Certainly, we could be better. We could've coached better and we could've played better. But I think the program is in pretty good shape right now. " What follows is Blue White Illustrated's review of the 2013 season, including our picks for Penn State's most valuable player, breakout performers, biggest surprise, biggest question mark and more. O'Brien might not find them persuasive, but maybe you will: MOST VALUABLE PLAYER Without a doubt, this honor goes to Allen Robinson, the back-to-back winner of the Big Ten's Receiver of the Year award. Whether it was the miracle catch vs. Michigan, his average of 119 receiving yards per game, or his penchant for breaking his own school records, Robinson made himself the Nittany Lions' go-to guy again in 2013. So much so, in fact, that when Christian Hackenberg threw in No. 8's direction, he completed 63.6 percent of his passes, as opposed to 50.4 percent when targeting other pass-catchers. BREAKOUT OFFENSIVE PLAYER Hackenberg, a five-star prospect and the unanimous No. 1 quarterback recruit in the country, took the opening snap vs. Syracuse and every opening snap thereafter, starting each of Penn State's 12 games and establishing himself as one of the top three passers in the conference. In his first season, the Big Ten Freshman of the Year finished with 231 completions on 392 attempts for 2,955 yards, 20 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and five Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors. BREAKOUT DEFENSIVE PLAYER After playing sparingly as a true freshman, Jordan Lu- cas made a name for himself as a sophomore, starting all 12 games at cornerback. He led the defensive backfield with 65 total tackles, and his three interceptions put him in a tie with Ryan Keiser for the team lead. A couple of his interceptions played significant roles in Penn State's two overtime victories. His pick vs. Michigan led to a touchdown, while a first-quarter interception vs. Illinois halted the Illini's opening drive just 15 yards from the end zone. Freshman linebacker Brandon Bell made a late argument for this honor but didn't have the full-season resume that Lucas put together. Sophomore defensive end Anthony Zettel gets an honorable mention nod after totaling four sacks. HE WILL BE MISSED Penn State will have a few holes to fill along the offensive line, and there's no replacing the leadership of linebacker Glenn Carson. But the senior whom Penn State will miss most on the field is DaQuan Jones. Although he was bothered by an assortment of nagging injuries throughout the season, Jones led the defensive line with 56 tackles. He was a constant force in the middle of the defense, often drawing double-team blocks and freeing up space for the linebackers and ends. How does Penn State fill the void that Jones' graduation creates? With fellow tackle Kyle Baublitz also departing, the Lions will turn to junior college prospect Tarow Barney and a trio of sophomores, one of whom is rising star Austin Johnson. PLAY OF THE YEAR Play of the year? Try play of the decade. Trailing by a touchdown with 34 seconds left against Michigan, Hackenberg tossed up a 40yard prayer to Robinson, who leaped into the sky and returned with the ball at the Wolverines' 1-yard line. One play later, Hackenberg snuck in for the tying touchdown. After even more overtime drama, Penn State prevailed, 43-40. BEST WIN The aforementioned thriller against Michigan certainly deserves serious consideration for this honor. And for sheer entertainment value, there's a case to be made for the team's other overtime victory, a 24-17 win over Illi- nois that Keiser clinched with an endzone interception. But in the end, neither of those victories was as gratifying as the one Penn State earned on the final day of its season. Wisconsin was ranked 14th by the Associated Press and was celebrating senior day at Camp Randall Stadium. But the Lions stormed out to a 17-point lead and held off the Badgers' late comeback bid for their first victory over a top-15 opponent since defeating No. 13 LSU in the Capital One Bowl on Jan. 1, 2010. And just as impressive as what the Lions did was how they did it. Underclassmen carried them to victory, scoring all of the team's four touchdowns. The victory was exactly the sort of springboard Penn State was looking for as it headed into its off-season. Said O'Brien, "That bodes well for the future." WORST LOSS The Nittany Lions' 44-24 defeat at Indiana – their first-ever against the Hoosiers – was a tough pill to swallow. It got them off to an 0-1 start in Big Ten play and inspired a lot of grumbling about O'Brien's game plan, as Hackenberg attempted a school-record 55 passes against a defense that would go on to finish 11th in the Big Ten against the run. But perhaps no loss hurt more than the 49-point shellacking at Ohio State, the team's most lopsided defeat since falling 65-4 to the Duquesne Athletic Club in 1899. O'Brien himself labeled it a "blowout." BIGGEST SURPRISE Linebackers coach Ron Vanderlinden parted ways with the Nittany Lions once they arrived back in State College after the season finale at Wisconsin. He'll pursue other opportunities. Vanderlinden had coached Penn State's linebackers since 2001, and 10 of his former pupils currently play in the NFL. MOST TELLING STATISTIC Penn State finished fourth in the Big Ten in total offense, averaging 433.2 yards per game to finish behind only Ohio State, Indiana and Wisconsin. Yet it finished eighth in scoring offense at 28.7 points per game. If the Lions can cut down on the turnovers and improve their red zone efficiency (they finished eighth in both

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