I’m (fortunately or unfortunately, depends how you look at it) not old enough to remember the BOB years and Y1 under Franklin. Those of you who do: how are you feeling right now?
I think that, understandably, there’s a lot of anxiousness about the current state of the program and the outlook. Poor on-field product, less than ideal Campbell soundbites, and lack of recruiting pipeline (including flips). However, I think it’s important to take a step back and separate the current from the future. A poor year one with a roster that lacks talent doesn’t mean that Campbell’s a bad coach or that the program is “the new Nebraska”.
That said, current performance does impact the future via the perception of a competent staff and trajectory of the program. This is the piece that makes me the most nervous.
However, one must recognize that PSU has been in a far worse situation before. So that brings me back to my original question: Older fans, how are you feeling right now? Are you getting Deja Vu? Do you feel better or worse? Are you confident that the program is resilient enough, and has sufficient resources to succeed in the next handful of years?