The Penn State community is in mourning today following the death this past weekend of long-time head football coach Joe Paterno. Paterno, who began coaching at Penn State 61 years ago and was the Nittany Lions’ head coach for 46 years, was relieved of his position last fall following the child abuse scandal involving one of his former assistant coaches. Paterno was fired after not following up on the abuse allegations. The scandal has shaken Penn State to the core and also led to the firing of university president Graham Spanier.

University-Wide Influence

Paterno’s influence at Penn State extended well beyond football. The coach was a top fund-raiser, helping the school expand its endowment above $2 billion reports the Chronicle. Paterno was also a tenured professor who had a chair in the English department named for him.

Penn State’s emergence as a top-tier football program has come about because of Joe Paterno. Paterno brought two national championships and 24 bowl victories to Happy Valley and it was his presence that helped Penn State gain admittance to the prestigious Big Ten Conference. Because of Paterno, the football program has one of the highest graduation rates of all major universities due to its “Success With Honor” motto that advocates student academic success and involvement in the community through voluntary works.

The university’s ethical status has taken a severe hit as the gravity of the child abuse scandal emerged and became known. A coach who did so much for the university did not do enough to protect young children from a predator. Instead, Paterno put power, prestige and money ahead of ethics, which eventually led to his dismissal. A community is rightfully mourning the man affectionately known as JoePa, but his reputation has been sullied and will likely carry a permanent stain. Although Paterno was not accused of wrongdoing, what he knew and didn’t follow up on has forever changed how we will remember him.

Final Interview

On January 14, the Washington Post published an interview with JoePa, his last interview in fact. Reporter Sally Jenkins met with Paterno, his wife and their four children in Paterno’s kitchen, and discussed his career which came to end following a brief, terse phone call from a college official announcing his termination.

Of the scandal, Paterno said, “I didn’t know exactly how to handle it and I was afraid to do something that might jeopardize what the university procedure was. So I backed away and turned it over to some other people, people I thought would have a little more expertise than I did. It didn’t work out that way.”

No, it did not work out. Worse, Penn State is now named among other scandals that have been uncovered in recent years, from the child abuse scandal of the Roman Catholic Church to the fall of Enron, Solyndra and Lehman Brothers. How the university remedies its reputation won’t come easily. That is a lesson that needs to be learned by every college and university that puts a high price on athletic success.

The next to last full weekend of college football looms with many of the top teams enjoying games against lesser opponents, teams which should present no problem for them. That is, unless they’re looking ahead to conference championship games and dreaming about bowl opportunities. Lose at this point in the season and most teams will have to lower their expectations come bowl season.

PSU Scandal

This past week the biggest news was about Penn State and that program’s fall from grace. The child molestation scandal involving a former coach, Jerry Sandusky, isn’t going away but the Nittany Lions aren’t either. They’ll be traveling to Ohio State on Saturday in a bid to remain on top of the Leaders division and to secure a place in the first-ever Big Ten championship game. Winning at Ohio State will be difficult enough for Penn State which trails in this series with 12 wins to the Buckeyes 13 victories.

Virginia Tech, ranked #8 in the nation, continues to win following its 23-3 loss at home against Clemson on Oct. 1. The UNC Tarheels come to town, a team that may be bowl eligible, but needs a signature win to avoid getting sent to a low-tier bowl. The Hokies are ripe for the taking, but very much aware that destiny hangs in the balance. And, David Teel reminds his readers that two years ago the Tarheels shocked #14 V.T. at home.

Cowboy Nation

If #2 Oklahoma State wins out, they’ll be facing off against LSU for the BCS championship in January. Of course, they still have to beat Iowa State on Saturday and beat Oklahoma on Dec. 3 before that can be assured of playing for the title. Lose one game or play terribly against Iowa State this weekend, but still win, and they could slip in the polls.

South Carolina is ranked #12 and still has a good shot at a BCS bowl game with FCS Citadel at home this week, one week before it hosts in-state rival and #7 ranked Clemson. The Gamecocks finished 6-2 in the SEC and are a half game behind Georgia whom they beat early this season. Clemson, by the way, travels to Raleigh to take on NC State, a 5-5 team that must win to get to a bowl. Guess who’ll be priming for an upset this Saturday?

High Tide

Alabama won’t be looking ahead on Saturday as the #3 Crimson Tide hosts Georgia Southern, one of the best FCS teams in the nation. Alabama is just waiting for someone to slip up in a bid to have second shot at LSU. Auburn looms next week, last year’s national champion with nothing to lose, but a spoiler opportunity available.

The top scoring team in the nation is the #11 Houston Cougars, a team that will be hosting upset-minded SMU on Saturday. Keep winning and the Cougars will face off against #20 Southern Miss in December for the Conference USA championship. Houston will likely be a bowl buster too, securing an at-large bid even if they don’t move up in the polls over the coming weeks. Who would have thought that a Conference USA team would be ranked so high this season? Jason Starret warns that Tulsa next week could be the fly in the Cougar’s ointment.

LSU Rocks

Playing 2-8 Ole Miss on the road shouldn’t present a problem for the top-ranked LSU Tigers who will have just six days to prepare for #6 Arkansas, a team that would like to win out and secure a January bowl. Unless the Tigers become overconfident notes Glenn Guilbeau.

Boise State, now ranked #10 following its 1-point loss to TCU at home last weekend, will play at 6-3 San Diego State. An Aztec upset would bolster SDSU’s own bowl positioning, something the Broncos must keep in mind as they head to sunny southern California this weekend.

See Also — CBSSports.com: McMurphy’s Law: Penn State is the one team no bowl wants to invite; Brett McMurphy; Nov. 15, 2011

Sandusky Scandal

Recent calls for killing off Penn State football, however, are misguided and go beyond the NCAA’s jurisdiction to punish the school for the way it mishandled or ignored a scandal directly involving one-time assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. Sandusky has been charged with multiple counts of child molestation, following reports that he engaged in homosexual behavior with boys who were as young as 10 years old. That charge led to the downfall of the university’s president and revered head coach, Joe Paterno.

Bud Withers, writing for the Seattle Times has it right: there is no mechanism within the NCAA governing body to punish Penn State regarding the Sandusky scandal. This is a law enforcement matter only. The NCAA will review whether any of its own rules were broken and take the appropriate action. What little we do know about the investigation right now is limited, but this scandal appears to be completely outside of the governing body’s authority. No authority…no death penalty.

Criminal Investigation

Don’t get me wrong — what has happened at Penn State is shocking and it should be dealt with severely. The town and state are investigating, with the federal government also expected to jump in. This matter, however, should involve only the perpetrators and those who knew about it, but did nothing. Hence, the firing of JoePa and Graham Spanier, the university’s president.

What could harm Penn State football in the coming months and years is a dearth of solid recruits, high school seniors who see the scandal, know that Joe Paterno is gone and aren’t willing to don a Nittany Lions jersey for a new coach. Others, right or wrong, will wonder if the entire Penn State mystique is contrived and will simply look elsewhere. Ultimately, the jury of public opinion could do more to impact Nittany Lion football than anything else. Moreover, the scandal could affect the school’s ability to attract other students and even reduce donor contributions.

Moving Forward

Penn State will move past this scandal, but it won’t be easy and it certainly won’t come quickly. The riotous action of a group of Penn State students following the firing of Paterno last week reflects poorly on the school. How the student body, faculty, administrators, alumni and fans comport themselves in the weeks ahead will be critical.

In the meantime an investigation is ongoing and there may be more young men stepping forward to report abuse. These people are the victims here and should be helped. The Penn State community can do its part by offering them their full support, the first and most important step in a long and difficult healing process.

If a measure of a man’s success is defined by how well he performs on the job, then Joe Paterno’s 409 wins as head football coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions supports that definition. But, if success is defined as “doing the right thing” even when faced with the possibility of losing one’s job, then Paterno has failed.

Paterno Legacy

Paterno’s position as head coach is coming to an end, but it may not be age or his death that brings his illustrious career to a close. A scandal involving one of his former assistant coaches has him embroiled in controversy, one that is distracting from the team’s preparation for a noon showdown this Saturday against Nebraska in State College, Pennsylvania. The #12 Lions are atop of their division in the Big Ten Conference with a two game lead over Wisconsin and Ohio State. They’re also the last undefeated team in the conference with their collective eyes on a major bowl game possible this January.

The allegations against former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky are severe: nine male witnesses have come forth claiming that they were molested by Sandusky, information that Paterno first learned about as far back as 2002. Instead of going to the police with what he knew, Paterno apparently told a supervisor and left it at that.

Hot Seat

Paterno and athletic director Tim Curley are now on the hot seat for not pressing for an investigation. That hot seat is shared by three other people too including Penn State’s president, Graham Spanier, advisor Gary Schultz and one-time grad assistant Mike McQueary who apparently was an eyewitness to one of the assaults. That investigation should have come from the police who were never notified.

The Attorney General for the state of Pennsylvania, Linda Kelly, noted that Paterno fulfilled his legal obligation by turning the matter over to a supervisor. Although Paterno may be resolved legally, he may not be morally. And this is from a community of alumni and fans who are disgusted and disappointed that Paterno did not follow up.

Ignored Transgressions

Paterno, long considered the embodiment of all things right with college stports, suddenly looks like he is part of the problem – covering up or ignoring transgressions for the sake of protecting Penn State football, his personal legacy or both. That makes for a sad commentary with a storyline that won’t have a happy ending.

Unsettled weather the first weekend of college football forced several teams to leave their fields and had fans running for the exits to avoid lightening strikes. A number of games were delayed with at least two contests abbreviated as some storms refused to move on. After five consecutive days of college football the games have stopped, but a resumption of bad weather is possible this weekend as additional tropical systems threaten the eastern half of the nation.

In my long memory of following college football, I do not recall such widespread problems affecting games. Much of the trouble was in the midwest where contests at Michigan, Notre Dame and West Virginia were halted. Games in Iowa and Tennessee were also delayed according to the “New York Daily News.” [1]

Upset Alert

Regardless of weather conditions this weekend, a full slate of Division 1-A football awaits enthusiasts. TCU and Notre Dame were among the teams that unexpectedly lost, but there is a good chance we’ll see several more upsets when the second week of college football gets started on Thursday night. [2]

There is just one marquee match up this weekend when #3 Alabama travels to Happy Valley to take on #23 Penn State. An Alabama win would solidify the Tide’s quest for national title consideration even before SEC play begins. A win by the Nittany Lions would demonstrate to everyone that Penn State has the credibility to contend for the Big Ten Conference crown this year.

Auburn Angst

Auburn is not currently ranked, a somewhat shocking move, but entirely deserved following the Tigers’ lackluster performance on Saturday as it eeked out a 42-38 win over Utah State. The #16 Mississippi State Bulldogs take on Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday, giving both teams a chance to make a statement. Auburn has the most to lose in this contest and could find the ‘Dogs ready to take them down.

Rutgers and North Carolina weren’t challenged in their season openers, but both schools have a lot of questions left unanswered. For Rutgers, its all about competing – can the Scarlet Knights put together a complete game against good competition or will this team be steamrolled? For UNC, the Butch Davis era is over, but can the Tarheels compete in the ACC this year? This non-conference match up should be a good indicator of where each team is headed this year.

Horned Frogs

TCU travels to Air Force in a game where the Horned Frogs find themselves 0-1 following a devastating 50 to 48 loss to Baylor. This is TCU’s last season in the Mountain West Conference, as the Frogs will navigate to the Big East Conference in 2012. Lose to Air Force and the Falcons will deliver a fatal blow to TCU’s major bowl aspirations this year.

Other games of interest include #12 South Carolina at Georgia. Following its loss to Boise State, the Bulldogs need to beat the Gamecocks to demonstrate its ability to compete effectively in the SEC. BYU at Texas is important as the Cougars must continue working through the team’s first full year as an independent while the Longhorns must hold up the banner of the Big 12 Conference even as some of its fellow members consider fleeing for greener pastures. And Notre Dame needs to find a way to recover from its loss to South Florida — too bad that involves a trip to the Big House to take on Michigan!

Will lightening strike twice again this weekend with two major upsets? That seems likely and are the only lightening strike fans want to encounter.

References

[1] New York Daily News: After WVU-Marshall Lightning Delays, It’s Time for NCAA to Revisit What Makes a Game ‘Official’; Dick Weiss; September 5, 2011

[2] ESPN: College Football Schedule

Midseason Milestone

This is the sixth weekend for college football and for those schools not having enjoyed a bye week yet, it will also be their sixth game in a twelve-game regular season. Many teams will gain a 13th game by virtue of a post-season bowl game with a 14th game for those schools participating in a league championship contest before their bowl tilt.

A glance at the USA Today poll reveals that the top 11 teams have yet to lose with an additional six unbeaten teams occupying the lower spots in the poll. 11 of the 17 unbeaten teams have played five games so far, with most seeing action this weekend. Michigan State travels to Michigan in a battle of 5-0 teams and Florida hopes to battle back and knock off LSU after getting smeared by Alabama last weekend. Barring an upset, the remaining unbeaten teams should survive for yet another Saturday, delaying the whittling down process a bit longer.

Bama Tops

The top of the college football heap is no surprise with Alabama being a near unanimous pick for #1. After dismantling a highly regarded Florida team on Saturday, the Crimson Tide should be everyone’s top pick, but then you will almost always have a writer who thinks that an Ohio State or Boise State has a chance against the Tide. Not last year and it certainly doesn’t look to be so for this year either.

What teams are surprises this year for better or for worse? The following are my picks:

Michigan State — I could say “Michigan” as easily as mentioning the Spartans, but I’m impressed by the State offense which is getting the job done, averaging 36 points per game. The Big “D” needs to work hard this Saturday, however, as the Wolverines are averaging 45 points per game.

NC State — The Wolfpack withered in the second half against Virginia Tech, losing their first game of the season on Saturday. QB Russell Wilson is hot, tossing for 3 TDs and 362 yards against the Hokies. He also threw three interceptions which were caught by  Jayron Hosley each time.  Despite losing, I believe the Pack may contend for the ACC title this year.

Oklahoma — The Sooners blew out a good Florida State team in the second week of the season, but have won their four other games by eight points or less. Beating Air Force by three and Cincinnati by two is cause for concern, but at the end of the game the Sooners are still tops. You got to think that Oklahoma would love to play Nebraska in the Big 12 title game, giving the Cornhuskers a “nice” exit as they leave for the Big Ten.

Rutgers — Was the 2006 season an anamoly? It sure seems that way for the Scarlet Knights who haven’t had a statement win since then. This year was supposed to be different, but with a depleted offense, and being beaten by a penalty ridden North Carolina and weak Tulane team has hammered the boys on the Raritan. I don’t believe Rutgers will make it back to a bowl this year unless their offense booms.

BYU — San Diego State should be an easy win for the Cougars, right? No. After getting wiped out by the Aztecs the previous week, Utah State came back and slapped around BYU last week. This week, the Aztecs get the chance to beat down 1-4 BYU who must play #5 TCU the following week. And, with #10 Utah closing out the season, the Cougars are looking at an uncommon non-bowl season this year.

Penn State — Joe Paterno will soon reach his 200th birthday (kidding), but his Nittany Lions are powerless and touchdown-less against the top teams losing to Alabama and Iowa by identical 24-3 scores. Beating Youngstown State was expected, but having trouble with Temple is, well, troubling. At 3-2, Penn State isn’t dead yet, but with games against Michigan, Northwestern, Ohio State and Michigan State coming up, JoePa may find the going especially rough.

Now about those rumors TCU is considering joining the Big East….

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Week one was filled with tune up contests with a few surprises including Kansas losing to North Dakota State, an FBS school. Not that the Jayhawks are a football powerhouse, but they shouldn’t lose to a Missouri Valley Conference program. With #15 Georgia Tech coming to town this weekend, the Jayhawks are looking at a long, dismal season.

If the first week of the season didn’t tell you that Notre Dame and Michigan have improved while the Big East is looking especially lame, then you’ll have to spend a few extra hours this weekend taking in some of the top contests including:

Georgia at South Carolina — Every SEC match up is a dog fight, but in this case the #24 Gamecocks have the edge over #22 Georgia because of its home field advantage. Odd that this game was scheduled for noon because by halftime the air temperature should be pushing past 95 degrees. That might cook a few eggs, but I believe that South Carolina will finish on top in a close one.

South Florida at Florida — The Gators are ranked #8, but are without Tim Tebow. Will that make a difference? It didn’t last week when Miami of Ohio came in, but the Bulls are a better team and likely to put up a good fight. If they pull off a surprise, then everyone will wonder if South Florida is “that good” or whether the Gators have simply faded.

Florida State at Oklahoma — The #17 Seminoles travel to Norman to take on the #10 Sooner in one of the better inter-conference battles of the young season. I don’t have a stake in this game, but I have to think that the Sooners will shake off their close contest against Utah State to knock off the Noles. If not, bye-bye BCS aspirations!

Miami at Ohio State — The Buckeyes are ranked #2 in the nation and the Hurricanes are #12 which means that this game should be well played, a back and forth affair which could yield a frontrunner for a BCS contender. I’m not entirely convinced that the Buckeyes deserve a #2 rating, but I’m also not sure that the Canes are that good either.

Penn State at Alabama — JoePa is still around and his #18 Nittany Lions look to challenge for the Big Ten title. Playing the #1 Crimson Tide on the road in an inter-conference tilt means that Penn State can’t afford to make any mistakes while Alabama will have to make several if the cats are to stand a chance to pull a huge upset.

Happy footballing!

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We’re in the middle of what is turning out to be an extraordinarily hot summer and the farthest thing from the average student’s mind is their academic studies. Then again, if you are enrolled in classes this summer, then you’re knee deep in writing papers, taking quizzes and preparing for final exams.

Here on SayCampusLife, we’re keeping busy and following important trends of note. The biggest noise since the academic year ended this May has been changes involving the conference status of several universities with Nebraska, Boise State, Colorado and Utah announcing their moves. Don’t expect too much more on this over the coming months, but we can see further changes if Notre Dame finally agrees to join the Big Ten conference. Yeah, right.

Among the stories we are currently following:

Rutgers Naming Rights – I’m New Jersey born and bred, so don’t take this news wrong: Rutgers is seeking to sell naming rights to its football stadium and basketball house in a bid to raise some much needed cash. The state is broke, Gov. Christie is holding legislators’ feet to the fire and the Scarlet Knights need a financial friend. Expect one or two Garden State pharmaceutical companies to step up.

Syracuse, Penn State at the Meadowlands – One school is from New York, the other is from Pennsylvania, but they’ve agreed to play in the New Jersey (Hackensack) Meadowlands in 2013. Cuse and the Nittany Lions have a long history, having played each other regularly until Penn State joined the Big Ten two decades ago. They started to play each other again recently and are looking at home and home games ten years out.

Dana College Implodes – How would you like to be attending college and the school abruptly announces its closure? Tiny Dana College in Blair, Nebraska recently put forth the news that the school would be ceasing operations after 126 years effective immediately. Students will have to transfer to other schools and 300 freshmen won’t even get to set foot in the door. The school’s athletic program is shut down meaning member schools in the Great Plains Athletic Conference will have one less game to play this season.

Stanford, Athletic Powerhouse – The Stanford Cardinal is college’s best sports program! Who knew? For the sixteenth consecutive year, Stanford won the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup which recognizes the best overall collegiate athletics programs in the country in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III and the NAIA. Measuring the top ten mens and top ten womens sports at each school, Stanford continues to lead year after year. Of course, it helped that the Cardinal won men’s volleyball and women’s tennis this year, but distanced the second place Florida Gators in the tally.

If you’re on campus right now, you’ve probably been seeing some 7-on-7 football action in advance of the fall season. Regular football practice begins in less than four weeks with the first kickoffs taking place Labor Day weekend.

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On Tuesday, we focused on the tragedy of Jasper T. (Jazz) Howard’s death, the star University of Connecticut cornerback who was murdered in the early hours of Sunday morning on the UConn campus. As of this writing, one arrest has been made and more arrests are expected. The UConn campus is in mourning even as the Huskies prepare to face West Virginia on the road this Saturday, with a tribute expected to take place before the start of the game.

On Wednesday, we learned about Playoff PAC, a political action committee formed in a bid to bring about a college football playoff system for Division 1-A schools. Right now, all of the other football divisions have playoffs while the biggest programs must settle for the bowl championship series (BCS) which arbitrarily selects a national champion after a mythical title game in January.

Today, its all about what we typically talk about once each week – this weekend’s action. And, as we enter the second half of the season, the stakes are being turned up yet another notch.

Texas Christian at Brigham Young – BYU got hammered a few weeks back by a Florida State team that is now 2-4. Still, they’re ranked #16 and will be hosting the #8 Horned Frogs in a battle of BCS busters. Including #18 Utah, the Mountain West Conference has three nationally ranked teams, a tribute to the strength of this “mid-major” league.

Connecticut at West Virginia – The Mountaineers are ranked #23 and will be hosting the wounded Huskies who are mourning the death of Jazz Howard. Will UConn remember Jazz by presenting fans with a surprise win?

Penn State at Michigan – The Nittany Lions bring their defense to Michigan in a bid to solidify themselves in the Big Ten race. Though Iowa now has the lead, Coach Paterno knows that winning out their schedule will certainly help. Don’t expect Michigan to roll over and play dead, because at 5-2, the Wolverines want to set their own bowl destiny.

Florida at Mississippi State – #1 Florida barely beat Arkansas last week in what was considered by many to be a trap game. But how about this weekend’s match against the 3-4 Bulldogs? Florida hasn’t won in Starkville since 1985 and better not forget just how close LSU came to losing to the Bulldogs during the fourth game of the season.

As always, have a great weekend watching your favorite teams do battle.

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Joe Paterno, affectionately known as JoePa, is the long-standing football coach for the Penn State Nittany Lions and has recently been calling for the conference to add a twelfth school. JoePa noted that the conference is at a disadvantage to some other football playing leagues including the Big 12, ACC and SEC, each of which has enough schools to play a football championship game in early December. While those schools are playing before national television audiences, the Big Ten is inactive, forced to await the start of the postseason bowl season several weeks later.

Scanning The Big East For A New Member

As the winningest coach of all time and 43 years at the helm of Penn State, what JoePa has to say commands a lot of attention. Whether the Big Ten will add a twelfth school as Paterno has suggested may be a stretch, but given that possibility one school could be an excellent fit.

At 82 years old, JoePa says what is on his mind and seems to always have quite a number of ears tuned to whatever he is saying. A few years back when rumors surfaced that JoePa was going to to ushered into retirement, the coach would have nothing to do with such talk. Few people believe that there is a college president in office who would dare come up against JoePa, given his charismatic appeal and penchant for winning. Get rid of JoePa before he is ready to retire and you just may anger 108,000 fans who call Happy Valley home whenever the Nittany Lions are playing in State College, PA.

JoePa has been very specific as to which schools he would like to see considered as the twelfth Big Ten Conference team, naming three from the Big East Conference: Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Rutgers. All three are geographical rivals for Penn State and would help balance the eastern edge of the predominately Midwestern conference. But, only one school has the pull that could help the conference’s television ratings, a factor always under consideration when league expansion is considered. And that school is Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.

Rutgers Gets The Nod

Rutgers is both an interesting choice as well as a good one for two reasons: not too long ago JoePa discouraged any and all of his assistant coaches from seeking a position at the NJ school. JoePa felt that the athletics department wasn’t behind the program which was always languishing at or near the bottom of the big school football pile. Indeed, many years of finishing last meant that a culture of losing existed at Rutgers, something JoePa realized wasn’t easily overcome and could damage a coach’s career. However, when one of his former assistants, Greg Schiano, took over the Rutgers program and quickly turned it around, JoePa was won over.

Another reason why Rutgers gets the nod over Pittsburgh and Syracuse is that the school serves a much bigger market than either other school. Not only are NJ’s nine million residents interested in the program, but that interest includes the Philadelphia and New York City markets, the latter particularly strong as some of the best players the Scarlet Knights have seen over the past few years have come from NYC metropolitan area schools (Ray Rice of New Rochelle, NY for example).

Of course, getting Rutgers into the conference means obtaining the consent of all Big Ten schools and the willingness of the Scarlet Knights to leave the Big East. The former may not be so tough given that there has been interest in Rutgers previously. And, as far as leaving the Big East, you can bet if Rutgers sees a better opportunity elsewhere then they’ll make the jump as soon as they respond, “how high?”

Sources: SNY.tv, Star-Ledger, Sports Illustrated

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