Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/741084
F O O T B A L L • M I D S E A S O N G R A D E S Lions make progress in season's first half Bill O'Brien had a saying: You are what your record says you are. It was his way of cutting to the chase. He knew that college football at its highest level was a results-oriented business, and he be- lieved that the win-loss column was the ultimate arbiter of (on-field) success. O'Brien is long gone, but his quote, borrowed from Bill Parcells, bears men- tioning here. Heading into its showdown with Ohio State, O'Brien's former team was 4-2, a solid but not unblemished record that was emblematic of a talented but youthful roster. There were some exiting moments and positive develop- ments in the first half of Penn State's season, from the euphoric overtime vic- tory over Minnesota to the rising pro- ductivity of the passing game to the emergence of freshman punter Blake Gillikin, who has turned one of the Nit- tany Lions' biggest weaknesses into a strength. But there have also been some setbacks, starting with the devastating wave of injuries at linebacker, a problem that has had ripple effects throughout the defense and contributed to road losses at Pitt and Michigan. On the heels of consecutive 7-6 fin- ishes in 2014 and '15, Penn State's strug- gles this year have had some fans feeling restless. As the Lions battle to attain bowl eligibility for the third consecutive season, coach James Franklin has had to make a trickier case than his predeces- sor did. NEWS NOTES BIG NIGHT McSorley cele- brates Penn State's over- time victory over Minnesota, in which he had 335 yards pass- ing and 73 yards rushing. Photo by Steve Manuel & |