Andy Dufresne once said “Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things.”

It was cloudy for a while, but there was always hope for the future amongst the Happy Valley faithful. With the sanctions gone and a 4-0 start for the first time since Daryll Clark was the field general for the Nittany Lions, the present is awfully bright. Sure, the offensive line is still shaky. Yeah, Hack wasn’t at his best against UMass. True, we still have to play Michigan State, Ohio State, Maryland and Michigan. But, we’re both undefeated and eligible.

During Monday Night Football, Penn State was added to the “Who’s In?” commercials ESPN has been airing to advertise the College Football Playoff that debuts this year. Noticeably absent in earlier renditions, this featured all-world linebacker NaVorro Bowman leading a “Who do we hate? Ohio State!” chant to a group of ecstatic Staters in a spot aptly titled “Rivals.”

Seeing Penn State again featured in a national spotlight for positive reasons, especially by the much-maligned Worldwide Leader in Sports, is awesome.

About the Author

Noel Purcell

Noel Purcell is Onward State's Features Editor. He's a senior Supply Chain major, but is going to law school at some point in the future and masquerades as a writer for now. He continues to disappoint his ancestors by being a complete Irish stereotype. His email is noel@onwardstate.com because there were no other Noels before him. His ex-wife got the good half of his bio in the divorce settlement.

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