Oftentimes, we as fans need a dose of reality. We’re on message boards constantly, picking up any little scrap of news about our team, and turning molehills into mountains at the drop of a hat. We’re down in the weeds, and see every flaw our team has.
Which is funny, to me at least, when national pundits then talk about Penn State being a top 10 team.
How could that be? Our receivers can’t catch! Our offensive line can’t open a hole! Our linebackers are terrible!
So, on occasion, the Internet can actually give us some sweet relief. When the Penn State Pessimism is at its highest, after we’ve painstakingly laid out how our team will be terrible once again because one former blue chip player has transferred, we get walked back from the ledge.
Of course, the opposite is also true. There have been many times that I’ve had conversations with - ostensibly - fans of college football, and have been told in no uncertain terms that Penn State is going to be terrible.
These conversations tend to revolve around the pieces that Penn State has lost - Trace McSorley is gone, and PSU will never score another touchdown. Two starters are gone from an average OL, the running backs will never gain another yard. Two defensive linemen, a linebacker, and two DBs, the defense will be horrible!
No matter how you might refute such arguments, the answer is always that Penn State has peaked, and will never be good again. The Lions have lost too much, too many good starters. No one that was lost can be replaced.
Never mind that every other college team is replacing starters. That’s the nature of the sport.
So - sometimes the Internet gives, and sometimes it takes. Sometimes, outsiders will remind you that Penn State is still a top 10/top 15 team, despite you knowing that they’ll be lucky to win one more game. And sometimes, outsiders will tell you that Penn State will be lucky to win one more game, despite you knowing that they are still a top 10/top 15 team.
And so it goes!