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.