It has been difficult these past two autumns to know exactly which Penn State team you are watching at any given moment.
Is it the discombobulated, self-destructive group that went 0-5 to start 2020 and has dropped four of five in 2021? Or the explosive, gritty squad that won four straight to end last season and emerged triumphant from early-season heavyweight bouts against Wisconsin and Auburn? Is it overachieving? Is it underachieving? Is it all of those teams at once, or none of them at all?
I suppose it depends upon your perspective, whether you’re a glass-half-full or glass-half-empty type of person, whether you believe that talent or recruiting rankings should set the expectation bar or if you think that winning football is more about teamwork and desire and cohesion.
No matter what kind of team you thought Penn State was or what you thought it was supposed to be, though, Saturday’s loss to Michigan had to be five kinds of painful. A legitimate chance to beat a top-10 opponent, a hated rival and an easy-to-hate coach, plus the opportunity to add a signature win to a season that still didn’t have one and keep hopes alive for a big bowl. And, somehow, even after all the missed opportunities and sacks and footballs on the ground, it was in the Nittany Lions’ hands late in the fourth quarter.
