Somehow, someway, Penn State came out smelling like a rose, and the fanbase should be fired up heading into Spring Ball
The Penn State Football program was on the verge of being cast out into the College Football wilderness.
Just one year ago, the outlook for the Nittany Lions was as good as any program in the country. Led by former head coach James Franklin, Penn State was bringing back a quarterback who decided to forgo a certain first-round pick, they had two great running backs, great wide receivers, they returned one of the most veteran groups in the country, and they had a great coaching staff.
It was all fine and dandy until the season started.
Once it did, it was clear early on that something was off. They didn't have convincing wins in either of their three "preseason games," and then Big Ten play came. The opening loss to Oregon opened the floodgates to six straight losses.
Midway through that losing slide, they fired Franklin, and quarterback Drew Allar broke his ankle.
A year full of promise turned to disaster very quickly. But, they were not done yet.
Enter the offseason, and to say that their coaching search was a disaster would be an insult to the word "disaster." They approached their opening with no plan at all; they were convinced that they were just going to get a top candidate to fall into their lap. And well, I guess they did.
After overlooking Matt Campbell early, they made a late push at the Iowa State head coach, and they got him. After what started as a complete and total debacle, ended with Penn State getting one of the top coaches in the entire offseason.
Penn State fans should feel likey have received a second life after what they experienced over the last 365 days. They went through football Hell, survived the bleakest outlook, and flipped it into having a legitimate chance at getting to the Big Ten Championship Game and maybe even the playoffs.
They have a favorable schedule, and they pretty much have the entire Iowa State roster that at one point was a top-15 team in America last season.
The road back to the playoffs begins at the end of the month when Spring Ball gets going. That window opens on March 25th, and their Spring Game will mark the end of their Spring session on April 26th.
This is an incredibly important time for every program, especially one that is installing an entirely new culture. It will be a long wait until the Nittany Lions are able to try and get back to their normal spot in College Football, but they will get there with the right leadership in place.