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of strength and conditioning coordinator Craig Fitzgerald, Hackenberg will be even better equipped to tap into his potential in 2014. He hasn't even approached what he's capable of doing in his career as a Nittany Lion. To understand where he's going, let's take a look at what Hackenberg has already accomplished. In his first 12 games as Penn State's starting quarterback, he completed 231 of 392 passes for 2,955 yards and threw 20 touchdowns with only 10 interceptions. Five times through the course of the season, Hackenberg was named the conference Freshman of the Week. His nine games with more than 200 yards passing rank third for a single season at Penn State, while his four games of more than 300 yards passing tie the mark set by Matt McGloin a year ago. In all likelihood, that's where the historical comparisons between Hackenberg and former Nittany Lion record-holders are going to end. O'Brien's offense is high-powered and fastpaced and is going to produce bigger passing statistics than Penn State fans are accustomed to seeing. Those numbers are likely to get a lot of people's attention. Hackenberg was No. 32 in passing yards per game at the conclusion of his freshman season, and when the game's elite quarterbacks are being discussed this coming year, he figures I to be in the thick of the conversation. 2014 season could be something special After what Penn State's football program has had to endure in the two years since the Sandusky scandal erupted in November 2011, there appears to be more than just a glimmer of hope that Bill O'Brien, his assistant coaches and players will have the opportunity to experience a 2014 football season no one thought possible a few months ago. If the NCAA removes the bowl ban that was placed on Penn State as part of the sanctions that devastated the football program in July 2012, it's not unreasonable to think that the Nittany Lions could enjoy a dream season this coming fall. The reason I use the words "dream season" because the campaign begins in an exciting locale – Dublin, Ireland – against UCF and may afford O'Brien and his players the opportunity to play in the Big Ten Championship Game followed by a possible bowl invitation. I realize that it might be unrealistic to expect Penn State to win seven of its eight conference games, which it will almost certainly need to do to win the Big Ten's East Division this coming fall. But it's entirely realistic to think that Penn State could win seven or eight games against a schedule that includes nonconference matchups with UCF, Akron, Massachusetts and Temple and conference games against Rutgers and Northwestern in September, Michigan and Ohio State in October and Maryland, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan in November. The season opener in Dublin against UCF looks to be a toss-up, but Penn State will certainly be favored to win its other three nonconference games. And even though the Nittany Lions will face Indiana in Bloomington for the second consecutive year, I can't envision them losing two in a row to the Hoosiers. It wasn't the intimidating atmosphere at Memorial Stadium that sank Penn State in its 2013 Big Ten opener. I also expect the Lions to be favored in conference games at Rutgers (Sept. 13), at home against Northwestern (Sept. 25), at Michigan (Oct. 11), at home against Maryland (Nov. 1), and at Illinois (Nov. 22). If the Lions are able to prevail in those games – and it's admittedly a bit of a reach to state that they will be favored in Ann Arbor – they could be looking at an eight- or nine-win season. Given the impact of the NCAA sanctions, it's important to approach the upcoming season realistically. Even if the NCAA and the Big Ten rescind their respective postseason bans, the Nittany Lions probably won't be playing in the Big Ten Championship Game or taking part in the new college football playoff, which will be making its debut this coming fall. But that doesn't mean Penn State can't have a dream season in 2014. With an international trip looming and the possibility of a bowl invitation on the table, there's ample reason to be excited about the next 12 months of Nittany Lion footI ball. Mitchell holds key to lifting of bowl ban At this time a year from now, it's conceivable that the Penn State football team could be coming off its first postseason appearance since the 2011 season, when it lost to Houston, 30-14, in the TicketCity Bowl. The Nittany Lions will first have to win at least six regular-season games, and that's a potential stumbling block for a team that is graduating the two best players from a defense that experienced its share of problems in 2013. But that other stumbling block – the NCAA-imposed bowl ban that is currently slated to continue through the 2015 season – could be cleared from their path in September.

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