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PHIL'S CORNER Hopeful signs abound as Nittany Lions head into season's backstretch ons with an 0-2 record to open the season – national, regional and local sports pundits were ready to declare the 2012 season a washout. A host of national college sports W commentators were predicting that the Lions would be lucky to post a winning record. Kirk Herbstreit and Lee Corso of ESPN predicted that the team would win, at the very most, four or five games. But Penn State had won four in a row heading into its road trip to Iowa and was one of only two Big Ten teams to win its first two conference games. The Lions' projected record for the 2012 season has since changed in the eyes of many college football ana- lysts. When Herbstreit appeared on ESPN Radio's "Mike & Mike in the Morning" show on Oct. 10, he said that Bill O'Brien and his Penn State football team might be the feel-good story of the year in college football. He also called for recognition for Penn State's head coach. Said Herbstreit, "Bill O'Brien is the early front-runner for Big Ten Coach of the Year with all his team has had to overcome." A number of national college football columnists came out last week via Twitter and expressed similar thoughts. They said that if Penn State finishes the 2012 season 8-4 or bet- ter, O'Brien would have to be strongly considered for coach of the year hon- ors. "I've said it on air," ESPN com- mentator Dave Pasch said. "Bill hen Penn State arrived home af- ter its one-point loss to Virginia – a loss that saddled the Nittany Li- O'Brien should get National Coach of the Year consideration." Added CBSSports.com columnist Dennis Dodd, "[I'm] going to go ahead and say, since Penn State is off this week halfway through the season, Bill O'Brien – coach of the year." Why the complete turnaround on Penn State's prospectus? How were the Nittany Lions able to regroup after two losses to open the season? First of all, I'm convinced that many college football analysts underesti- mated the talent on this team at the beginning of the season. NFL scouts have said that Michael Mauti and Gerald Hodges are two of the top three linebackers in the Big Ten. In addition, senior defensive tackle Jor- dan Hill is one of the league's top three defensive linemen along with Kawann Short of Purdue and John Si- mon of Ohio State. Hill, Hodges and Mauti should all be playing in the NFL in 2013. The fact that Mauti and Hodges combined to win Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week recognition in games against Northwestern, Illinois and Navy clearly indicates how Penn State's defense has dominated during its win streak. But the bulk of the credit, I believe, has to go to O'Brien and his coaching staff. I'm convinced that Rick Pizzo of the Big Ten Network was 100 percent cor- rect when he appeared on the Penn- sylvania Sports Network in April and stated that O'Brien had assembled the best group of assistant coaches in all of Division I football. This staff has more national cham- pionship experience than just about any staff outside the state of Ala- bama. Stan Hixon, who is Penn State's assistant head coach and wide receivers coach, held the same posi- tion at LSU during the 2003 season in which LSU won a Bowl Championship Series crown. Mac McWhorter was the assistant head football coach at Texas in 2005 when the Longhorns defeated Southern Cal for the national title, and defensive coordinator Ted Roof held the same position with Auburn in 2010 when the Tigers beat Oregon for the BCS championship. Of all the things O'Brien has been able to accomplish, his ability to bring together this staff is what impresses me most. I believe it is the No. 1 rea- son why Penn State entered the latter half of the season with a 4-2 record and a four-game win streak. It's also why there's a belief among people close to the program that each re- maining game is winnable. The impact O'Brien and his assis- tants have had on players is most clearly evident in the way he and Charlie Fisher, Penn State's quarter- backs coach, have been able to turn senior Matt McGloin into the leading passer in the Big Ten. Through six games, McGloin had completed 136 of 221 pass attempts for 1,499 yards, 12 touchdowns and just two interceptions with a comple- tion percentage of 61.5. When you compare those numbers to his per- formance in 2011, the difference is staggering. Last fall McGloin complet- ed just 54.1 percent of his passes for 1,571 yards, eight touchdowns and five interceptions. The most impressive thing about McGloin's development – and another testament to the coaching he has re- ceived – has been his performance under pressure. In the fourth quarter of Penn State's comeback win over undefeated Northwestern, McGloin completed 13 of 15 passes for 103 yards and a touchdown. Penn State posted 22 points, and McGloin was able to complete two fourth-down passes to sustain crucial scoring drives. "Coach Fisher always tells me I've

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