The 2013 college football season with Penn State still embroiled in controversy and a wave of confusion.
While the Nittany Lions escaped the NCAA death penalty that would have shuttered the program, Penn State was still reeling from heavy sanctions.
Second-year head coach Bill O’Brien was dealing with his first true year of sanction fallout, having lost a number of experienced players to graduations and, while keeping the class largely intact, losing a number of talented class of 2013 commits.
While 2012 was expected to be difficult, 2013 was thought to be the beginning of a extended stretch of losing for the Penn State program.