I wrote on Monday about being tired of all the narratives around Penn State football. And that’s 100% true. I really want this team to change those narratives.

Also, as I mentioned on Monday, some of the feelings I have about this team are from my own expectations, buying into the hype, drinking the blue Kool-Aid a bit too much.

But here I am a few days later, and gosh darn it but if I don’t have hope again.

Let’s start with the obvious – if Penn State continues to play against the big dogs like it did for the first three quarters of the game against Oregon, they will lose to Ohio State, and very well could lose to Indiana, and maybe even Iowa.

The team of the first three quarters – well, the offense of the first three quarters anyway – was abysmal. 69 yards of offense I believe at halftime? Unacceptable, regardless of opponent. Not with the level of talent the Lions have.

And then, they figured something out in the fourth quarter.

Was it perfect? Absolutely not. After trailing 17-3, the Lions marched back to tie it at 17, with the second touchdown drive requiring two 3rd down conversions and two 4th down conversions.

But it finally worked.

For one, both running backs contributed on the game-tying drive. Nicholas Singleton continued to struggle to gain yards, but found a nice lead block for Drew Allar on a big pickup on the ground. Kaytron Allen put in extra work on the ground, but also had a nice 7-yard catch to keep the ball moving.

For another, it seemed like Drew was able to cook. He wasn’t necessarily trying to be perfect with the ball anymore, but was moving around in the pocket, buying himself some time, throwing good passes, and scrambling when all else failed.

Not that I want the QB scramble to necessarily be the “get out of jail free” card for the offense, but it’s a known fact that Andy Kotelnicki’s offense does better when the quarterback is a running threat. No one is going to accuse Allar of being swift of feet, but he can gain yards when he has to.

After having put together virtually no yardage and just 3 points for the first 48 minutes of the game, the Lions’ offense put up 162 yards of offense and 3 touchdowns in the fourth quarter and overtime.

Perhaps, to tie into the apathetic vibe of this week’s MMQB it would have been better if the team just rolled over and quit, losing 17-3. I know I personally was heartbroken when they came back, tied it at 17, took a 24-17 lead in OT, and then watched the Ducks score two TDs of their own and seal the game with an interception.

But there was enough there to give me hope. Hope that this offense may have found something it can finally build on. Hope that the defense is as legitimate as we all expected, having limited Oregon to just 17 points in regulation (7 of which were heavily influenced by the refs). Hope that maybe, just maybe, this team actually can hang with Ohio State, and actually can make Indiana and Iowa look like second-tier teams compared to the Lions.

As they say: it’s the hope that kills you.

See y’all Saturday at 3:30 ET.