Penn State 35 @ Illinois 7

Penalties:

Penn State: 2 for 17 yards (1 Illegal block)

Illinois: 8 for 69 yards (3 Holding)

Questionable Calls: Nothing of note for the first Big Ten game where PSU jumped out to a lead and Illinois seemed outmatched from the beginning.

Northwestern 28 @ Penn State 39

Penalties:

Northwestern: 3 for 40 yards (1 Holding)

Penn State: 3 for 30 yards

Questionable Calls: On third and 6 with two minutes to go in the half, PSU up 10-7, Stephon Morris was wrongly called for pass interference. This put NU in PSU territory with a fresh set of downs. Six plays later NU scored to go up 14-10 with 30 seconds to go in the half. This was a huge momentum shift as PSU was set to get the ball back with the lead, and instead went in down at half. You could argue McGloin should have been flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for his ‘discount double check’ move after scoring in essence the game-winning touchdown, but I think most people would like to see refs allow kids to exhibit a bit of emotion, as long as it’s not directed at the opponent, in huge moments like that. All in all, both teams played pretty clean ball and officials were not a focal point.

Penn State 38 @ Iowa 14

Penalties:

Penn State: 7 for 72 yards (1 Holding, 1 Illegal block)

Iowa: 3 for 30 yards

Questionable Calls: After a score that put PSU up 24-0 in the second quarter, Bill Belton was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for putting a finger up to his facemask in a “shh” motion. You can argue this is the right call, but we’ve seen players do this, and even more before and not get called. Belton was disciplined by O’Brien and thankfully his mistake did not affect the outcome at all.

Ohio State 35 @ Penn State 23

Penalties:

Ohio State: 7 for 75 yards (1 Illegal block, 2 Holding – all on kick returns)

Penn State: 9 for 85 yards (3 Holding)

Questionable Calls: This game stings for PSU as much as any. While OSU was the better team, it’s hard not to wonder what the outcome is if the game is called more fairly. With the score knotted at 0, PSU stopped OSU on third and 3 back on their own 18, when Amos is called for a horrendous personal foul penalty. This would keep the drive alive, allowing OSU to flip the field with PSU starting at their own 20. Up 7-0 in the second quarter, PSU had forced another three-and-out from OSU’s own 27 yard line. This time PSU was flagged for holding on the punt, which wouldn’t have been a huge issue normally as the officials would simply back up the spot of the fair catch by 10 yards and let PSU begin their offensive possession. However, PSU was called for holding before the punt was kicked – odd – and after looking at the replay even the announcers were stunned. OSU’s long snapper, who had a great game, intentionally dove at the PSU defender’s legs. The defender, reacting like anyone would, extends his arms as a way to keep the OSU player away from his knees. This was viewed by the referee, and seemingly no one else not wearing scarlet and grey, as holding on PSU. OSU would regain possession 10 yards closer and score right before half to tie it up. That was probably the biggest moment in the game because of the way it affected the score and momentum. After a McGloin pick-six and a Ficken field goal, Amos intercepted Miller on third down, giving the momentum back to PSU. During the upcoming drive, on fourth and 9 in OSU territory, PSU tried a fake punt. Butterworth’s pass to Day was broken up as the OSU defender was draped on Day during the duration of the play. There was no penalty for holding or pass interference here – a bad break for PSU during a fake that even PSU fans weren’t expecting. From there, PSU would give up a touchdown, go three-and-out, and give up another touchdown to close out the third quarter, effectively sealing the game for the Buckeyes. Upon review, Braxton’s Heisman-worthy touchdown scamper is nothing more than at least two missed blatant holding calls. It’s not often you see a player, especially one of Mauti’s caliber, get animated at officials – but this game there were plenty of reasons to justify. OSU ran the ball 53 times and wasn’t charged with a single hold or illegal block – pretty amazing stat.

2011

#21 Penn State (8-2) at Ohio State (6-4)

Final Score: Penn State 20-14

Penn State was coached by someone other than Joe Paterno for just the second time since 1965. Coming off their second loss of the season, to Nebraska, Penn State jumped out quickly in Columbus scoring 10 in the first quarter. Interim head coach Tom Bradley utilized the Wildcat successfully against the Buckeyes, while Braxton Miller was limited for the most part. Both teams would go scoreless in the second half, though the Buckeyes would make a late push after stopping Penn State on fourth and goal from the one. Penn State would end up 9-4, losing to Houston in the TicketCity Bowl, while Ohio State finished 6-7, losing to Florida in the Gator Bowl.

-

2010

Penn State (6-3) at #9 Ohio State (8-1)

Final score: Ohio State 38-14

This game was a tale of two halves, unfortunately for the Nittany Lions. After Ohio State kicked a field goal, Penn State would respond with two Matt McGloin touchdown tosses, putting the Nittany Lions up 14-3 in Columbus. Ohio State would find their running game and (pre-O’Brien/Fisher) McGloin would regress. The third quarter featured a rushing TD and a pick six for the Buckeyes. There would be more bad luck in the fourth for the Nittany Lions when a tipped pass fell into Dane Sanzenbacher’s hands for a touchdown, followed by the second pick six of the day. Penn State would go scoreless in the second half, registering only 3 of 13 third down conversions. Ohio State would end up 12-1, beating #8 Arkansas in the BCS Sugar Bowl, while Penn State would go 7-6, losing to Florida in the Outback Bowl.

-

2009

#16 Ohio State (7-2) at #11 Penn State (8-1)

Final Score: Ohio State 24-7

Penn State was looking to have a solid season with a likely BCS run until a rain-soaked White House was turned upside down against Iowa. Despite that, a top 20 matchup in State College with Ohio State looked like a great chance to push for a BCS spot. Pryor and Clark would trade touchdown runs, with only a Devin Barclay field goal as the difference in the first half. Before the close of the third, Pryor would hook up with Posey for a 62-yard touchdown on a poorly covered route by Penn State. Penn State was again held scoreless in the second half. The difference in the game would be Ohio State’s ability to run the ball, racking up 228 yards to only 76 for Penn State. Ohio State would end up 11-2, beating #7 Oregon in the BCS Rose Bowl, while Penn State finished 11-2, beating #12 LSU in the Capital One Bowl.

-

2008

#3 Penn State (8-0) at #9 Ohio State (7-1

Final score: Penn State 13-6

This game was as tight as any in the series. Both top-ten teams were almost even in yards, Ohio State 287 to Penn State 281. The telling stat of the night would be turnovers, as Ohio State committed two, both costly. Driving in the fourth with a lead, Pryor – on third and short – tried to break a run outside and was famously stripped by Mark Rubin. After an all-out effort, Penn State would recover, and score a touchdown on the next drive, putting them up 10-6. Penn State would kick a field goal on their next possession, forcing Ohio State to drive the field in hopes of scoring a game-tying touchdown. With under a minute left, Pryor would toss an ill-advised pass up for grabs which was intercepted by Lydell Sargeant, sealing the victory at Ohio State for the first time since 1993. Penn State would end up 11-2, losing to #5 USC in the BCS Rose Bowl, while Ohio State finished 10-3, losing to #3 Texas in the BCS Fiesta Bowl.

-

2007

Penn State (6-2) at #1 Ohio State (8-0)

Final Score: Ohio State 37-17

After sporting a top-ten ranking, Penn State dropped early games at Michigan (14-9) and at Illinois (27-20). They would not fair better against the top team in the nation – who would later also drop a game to Illinois. Penn State was outmatched from the beginning, and was outgained by almost 200 yards. A kick return touchdown with 3 minutes to go in the game by A.J. Wallace did little to help the Nittany Lions. Ohio State would end up 11-2, losing to #2 LSU in the BCS National Championship Game, while Penn State finished 9-4, beating Texas A&M in the Alamo Bowl.

-

2006

Penn State (2-1) at #1 Ohio State (3-0)

Final Score: Ohio State 28-6

This one was a lot closer than the score would indicate. Penn State would take a 3-0 lead into the locker room at half, despite a scoreless first quarter. After Troy Smith eluded two should-have-been tackle-for-loss attempts, he tossed a jump ball that was secured by Brian Robiske in the end zone, giving Ohio State a 14-3 lead in the fourth. Penn State would drive with no luck as Anthony Morelli would throw two pick 6’s within 90 seconds of each other to ruin any comeback attempt for Penn State. Ohio State would end up 12-1, losing to #2 Florida in the BCS National Championship Game, while Penn State finished 9-4, beating #20 Tennessee in the Outback Bowl.

-

2005

#6 Ohio State (3-1) at #16 Penn State (5-0)

Final Score: Penn State 17-10

This game would turn out to be the best game I’ve ever attended. After waiting hours in the rain, I would end up in the 12^th row with a bunch of my friends to watch Penn State prove to the world they were back. A top notch defense would do its job as a Michael Robinson led offense, complete with skilled freshman, did just enough to get the win. I’m not sure if there has been a crowd as fired up as the one that provided a White Out that evening. Penn State took a 14-10 lead into half, and a Tamba Hali sack fumble on Troy Smith would ice the game for the undefeated Nittany Lions. Penn State would end up 11-1, beating #22 Florida State in the BCS Orange Bowl, while Ohio State finished 10-2, beating #5 Notre Dame in the BCS Fiesta Bowl.

-

2004

Penn State (2-5) at Ohio State (4-3)

Final Score: Ohio State 21-10

This year was by far the worst for both programs collectively, though Ohio State did fair better than 2011. The two offenses were ranked among the worst in the Big Ten. Ohio State passed for a mere 69 yards while Penn State mustered only 59. The difference in the game would be two non-offensive touchdowns, one punt return and one interception return. Ohio State would end up 8-4, beating Oklahoma State in the Alamo Bowl, while Penn State finished 4-7, not selected for a bowl game.

-

In summation, since 2004, Ohio State is 5-3 versus the Nittany Lions, holding a higher ranking in all meetings except two, twice holding the #1 national rank. The series is currently 14-13 in favor of the Nittany Lions (not including any vacated wins by either school). This has been a highly competitive series overall, and have had some great games in the last bunch of years, including down-to-the-wire finishes in 2005, 2008 and 2011. More often than not, the winner of this game takes at least a piece of the conference title – this year is no different – as the winner will stay undefeated in Big Ten play.

Ohio State comes in undefeated; however, it is fair to say the teams are trending, slightly, in opposite directions. Ohio State comes off a close call at Indiana and a shaky, overtime win at home against Purdue. Penn State comes off an easy, dominating performance in Kinnick, winning five in a row after dropping their first two. Both teams have shown resolve this year: Ohio State has many close victories, while Penn State scored 22 unanswered in the fourth against a then-undefeated Northwestern team.

This game is huge, there is no downplaying it. For Ohio State, this may be their toughest test of the season (visiting Camp Randal is up there also), and will be their fiercest opponent yet. If they can get a win in a rocking Beaver Stadium, they could be looking at an undefeated season in year one under Urban Meyer. That would no doubt set the Buckeyes up for a nice run in the next few years. For the other side, this may be the most important game in years. Nittanyville (formerly Paternoville) has a record number of campers. It has been reported that Penn State has maxed out their available recruiting passes; some say 80-100 recruits were contacted for a visit. If Penn State could send Urban Meyer’s Buckeyes home with their first loss of the season, it would no doubt send a message to recruits, fans, national media and more that Penn State will continue to be competitive under Bill O’Brien.

The professionals in the desert have set this game, for the most part, as a pick em – that tells you a lot about this matchup between an undefeated team and one that sports losses to Ohio and Virginia. Penn State can start Halloween weekend off right by containing Braxton Miller’s running and forcing him to be a pocket passer. Ohio State will need to defend much better than they have this year if they want to survive the 2012 White Out.

Follow Craig Dauman on Twitter!

While Iowa out-gained Penn State by a mere 48 yards, 3:36 in time of possession, was similarly lousy on third-down conversions (sub-23%) and turned the ball over the same amount, Iowa was able to average 10.3 yards per attempt on its way to a 21-point win — the largest in series history for Iowa. Iowa would end up 8-5, beating #12 Missouri in the Insight Bowl, while Penn State finished 7-6.

It is important to note that Penn State is traveling to Iowa City off a bye week this year. The last three times Penn State has played Iowa off a bye – 2003, 2004, 2008 – Iowa has come away with the victory.

Follow Craig Dauman on Twitter!

According to the NCAA’s website:

“Four-year reduction of grants-in-aid. For a period of four years commencing with the 2013-2014 academic year and expiring at the conclusion of the 2016-2017 academic year, the NCAA imposes a limit of 15 initial grants-in-aid (from a maximum of 25 allowed) and for a period of four years commencing with the 2014-2015 academic year and expiring at the conclusion of the 2017-2018 academic year a limit of 65 total grants-in-aid (from a maximum of 85 allowed) for football during each of those specified years. In the event the total number of grants-in-aid drops below 65, the University may award grants-in-aid to non-scholarship student-athletes who have been members of the football program as allowed under Bylaw 15.5.6.3.6.” (http://www.ncaa.org/wps/wcm/connect/public/ncaa/20120723/21207232).

There are two different elements one must understand in reference to the four-year reduction in scholarships portion of the sanctions:

1) A maximum of 15 scholarships available (25 maximum, typically) per year during the 2013-2014 to 2016-2017 seasons.

2) A maximum of 65 scholarship athletes (85 maximum, typically) on roster per year during the 2014-2015 to 2017-2018 seasons.

The reason for the two-year hiatus before implementing the roster reduction (85 to 65) is to allow all current scholarship student-athletes to maintain their status on scholarship. This is one spot the NCAA is correct; there is no way Penn State could drop from 85 to 65 scholarship players by this upcoming season, unless 20+ student-athletes transferred or completely lost their scholarship – the NCAA couldn’t bank on the transfers (and that extreme an exodus is highly unlikely) or allow kids who earned their scholarship to arbitrarily lose out. Waiting two years until the 65-athlete roster limit, paired with two previous years of reductions in available scholarships, allows a natural decrease in total roster numbers without any current student-athletes losing their earned scholarship. 

Richard Anderson (page 40)

The former coach was one of “several staff members and football coaches [who] regularly observed Sandusky showering with young boys in the Lasch Building.” No one was suspicious of this behavior. Now, I suppose we can come up with some situations where that could be fairly innocent; however, it seems like the consensus is that this conduct is inappropriate. What were these staff members and coaches thinking? Why did they never say anything?

Alycia Chambers (pages 42-44)

The licensed State College Psychologist had been working with one of the young boys Sandusky showered with before the incident in question. She was told by the mother of the young boy that Sandusky had showered with her son. Correctly, Chambers told the mother she was not overreacting and to make a report to the authorities, which the mother did, calling the University PD and reporting the incident to Detective Schreffler. “Chambers made a report to the Pennsylvania child abuse line and also consulted with colleagues.” They agreed that the behavior was similar to a pedophile’s. Her report did not make it to Caseworker Lauro’s desk; however, and this is the last she is mentioned in the Freeh Report. Did she follow up? Did she ever wonder what happened to Sandusky, who was believed to have pedophile tendencies?

Ron Schreffler (pages 42-46)

The Detective interviewed the 11-year-old boy after his mother called authorities. In his interview he was told there was another child, 10 years old, who had showered with Sandusky on other occasions. He was also present when a police officer hid inside the boy’s home as Sandusky and the boy’s mother spoke. This happened a second time, though it is not clear if Schreffler was a part of the second hidden operation. Schreffler ultimately spoke with Sandusky at the football complex, accompanied with Caseworker Lauro, where Sandusky admitted to showering with young boys, but agreed he would not continue to. Why didn’t Schreffer investigate further? Was going through the trouble of hiding in the boy’s home, and hearing that Sandusky did, in fact, shower with young boys not warrant more effort?

John Miller (pages 43-44)

A caseworker with the Center County Children and Youth Services (CYS), Miller received contact from Detective Schreffer about Sandusky and the allegations from the young boy. There were several conflicts, including CYS’s various contacts with the Second Mile, and the case was given over to the Department of Public Welfare (DPW). How much information did Detective Schreffer tell Miller? Would Miller have been in a position, either at that moment or when Sandusky had not been prosecuted, to take action? While the Freeh Report indicates that Miller was removed from his responsibility in lue of the DPW, it is just another person who may have known intimate details of accusations against Sandusky.

As I opened ESPN’s website, as I often do to catch up on the daily changes and developments in sports, I noticed their top link was to an article titled, “Penn St.: Donations 2nd highest in history.” I thought that was odd. I had never seen ESPN create an article about school funding before, unless it was directly related to a single, large donation going towards a stadium renovation or something similar. It even had a video associated with it. I decided to check it out. “Video:  Examining Paterno’s Legacy.” Weird, I thought this was an article about Penn State’s funding. As I read on, there was a lot of information about the $208 million in donations for the fiscal year, and there was even a blurb about the “annual student-organized dance marathon to raise money for pediatric cancer patients and research.” Then what has been so typical in every Penn State article, even those not related to athletics:  a Sandusky mention. ESPN seamlessly transitioned from Pegula committing $102 million to upgrade PSU Hockey, to Sandusky awaiting sentencing, to mentioning private donations will not be used to pay legal fees. Ah, I understand now. Take something unrelated, like Penn State’s typical general funding, add in a video about Paterno, some commentary about Sandusky, and you have an article brimming with 5000+ comments. I totally get it now, ESPN.

This is where it has been increasingly difficult as a Penn State supporter, as someone who is associated with such a great University and had nothing to do with the victims, Sandusky, or the inactions of some administrators. A mix of lazy journalism, incomplete leaks, and a need to create the biggest story, has fueled the generalized hate for anything Penn State. Social media, from message boards to blogs to twitter, have given a voice to those who are seemingly the most outraged at this situation. But reading through various mediums, a common theme has surfaced:  Generalize everything.

Everyone at Penn State worships JoePa like a God. Everyone at Penn State is a huge football fan. Everyone at Penn State knew Sandusky was a pedophile for many years. Everyone at Penn State believes the school’s image is more important than a child’s well-being. Everyone at Penn State thinks giving money will make everything go away.

And what is the consensus among those who are so passionately against the entire University? Give the football program the death penalty! Shut it down for as many years as children were violated! Make Penn State pay $200+ million (the amount collected in general donations this fiscal year) to the victims! The ironic thing about the people so fervently demanding these responses is they never once mention the victims,but instead put the focus of heinous crimes on the football program and money. People are so quick to point out how Penn State doesn’t care about the victims because about 2% of the student population of main campus took to the streets when Joe Paterno was fired—at the time, in a cowardly way, without clear facts to back up the decision. Roughly 98% of the school didn’t participate in the “riot,” but grouping the entire community together is a better narrative. Same with the candlelight vigil held a few days later. It dwarfed the size of the “riot,” but that was “simply a PR move.” Because, you know, 18-22 year olds apparently didn’t have the foresight to think of how the national media would react to their public outrage at Paterno’s firing, but instantly multiplied, morphed into PR savants and held a vigil merely as a stunt, right? I guess in 1977, THON was created strictly for PR purposes and the $88 million raised for children with cancer doesn’t mean a thing. Right…