Penn State and USC have been on paralell paths since meeting in last year’s Rose Bowl. The Trojans won that shootout 52-49 and Sam Darnold vaulted to the top of everyone’s draft rankings for college quarterbacks. The loss did not diminish the Nittany Lions—their turnaround and Big Ten championship had the program back on track, […]
I watched the Penn State-Temple game on Saturday afternoon, to see if my prediction of Nittany Lions to the Rose Bowl (assuming Ohio State would win the Big Ten and make the Playoff) had any chance of bearing fruit. After the Owls put a 27-10 beatdown on PSU, it’s time to ask not only if […]
In any telling of the history of Penn State under Paterno, the 2008 season will likely get lost in the shuffle, but it holds its own unique place in history. The 2008 Penn State football team was the last group that Paterno ever took to a major bowl game.
There was never any doubt Penn State would win the final vote over SMU, who had beaten Pitt in the Cotton Bowl 7-3, a game played in an icy rain in Dallas. There was irony in this though. After Paterno had been thrice denied the throne room with a perfect season, he was now ready to claim his first national title at 11-1 over the unbeaten Mustangs.
The cloud is lifting on Penn State football, as the NCAA has announced plans to give the program back the scholarships that were taken away in the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. The possibility of lifting a four-year bowl ban that began last season is also on the table. Both are moves that should be applauded, but they raise troublesome questions about not just the NCAA, but the media.
The fireworks between the family of the late Joe Paterno, the Board of Trustees, the national media and the fallout from the crimes of Jerry Sandusky got some ammunition this morning with the release of the Paterno Family’s answer to the charges leveled against the former coach in the Freeh Report last year. It’s the first official response given by the family of the late head coach and serves to level the playing field in the battle for public opinion and history.