A Great Retrospective on the 2012 Penn State Football Season

Yesterday, Penn State sports historian and author Lou Prato stopped by our house to visit Terry.  It was a great visit, and we spent time discussing our separate journeys to becoming devoted Penn State football fans.  Lou, with his years of experience as a journalist and in broadcast news, has tons of stories not only about his work with Penn State sports, but his coverage of other teams like Ohio State and Michigan.  Hilarious.

Lou learned that our story is different than a lot of Penn State fans.  Our devotion to Penn State had nothing to do with attending school here, and so Terry told him about how he evolved from Ohio State to Missouri to Penn State.  And I told him about my complete lack of devotion to football before I met Terry.   Also as I will tell my students tomorrow when classes begin, the reason I'm here teaching at Penn State's Smeal College of Business is due to Penn State football.  It's not the other way around.

One of Lou's tasks yesterday was to autograph his new book, entitled, "We Are Penn State:  The Remarkable Journey of the 2012 Nittany Lions".   You can purchase it here.  It's a very good read.  I finished it in a day.  Its hard to put down once you get started.

While Lou certainly has a point of view about what happened to Penn State as a result of the aftermath of the Sandusky scandal, especially the damages done to the football team and the Penn State brand by the Freeh Report and the NCAA sanctions, he does not dwell too long on those issues in the book.  He has written about those topics elsewhere, such as in his columns in Blue White Illustrated.

Rather, this book is almost entirely about the 2012 team who stayed when the NCAA sanctions said they could leave at any time without penalty.  It's about this remarkable group of football players whose emotional leaders were seniors Michael Mauti and Michael Zordich, and their brand new coach, Bill O'Brien, and how they kept Penn State football alive and helped us all smile again.

Penn State Football: Is This The Feeding Frenzy the NCAA Wished For?

Is this what the NCAA intended last year when, as part of the NCAA sanctions announced a year ago, they reduced scholarships for Penn State football by 20 scholarships per year for four years, and they allowed current Penn State football players to leave for other schools without penalty?

Fortunately many of the schools represented here in this mascot collection exercised restraint last summer on recruiting current PSU football players, and the one school that did not, Illinois, does not have a mascot so is not in these photos.  Chief Illiniwek, now gone, was never a mascot.  He was a spirit, I was told when I tried to acquire one the first time Penn State played Illinois in Champaign.

 Photos by Carolyn M. Todd.  All Rights Reserved.

Sure looks like the NCAA wanted a recruiting picnic full of mayhem that would cripple if not destroy Penn State forever.   A feeding frenzy of sorts.

And even if none of these schools pictured here directly tried to destroy Penn State, they are in fact represented on the NCAA Board and Executive Committee that discussed, approved and authorized the sanctions announced by Dr. Mark Emmert on the basis of a management advisory opinion piece called the Freeh Report rather than follow its own investigation rules.

Fortunately, few players transferred, thanks to the quick thinking leadership of the 2012 football team senior leaders, and the fact that the new coaching staff at Penn State, led by Coach Bill O'Brien, had earned the team's respect.

However, with 80 scholarships gone over the next four years, I can't help but think that Penn State's ability to be competitive over time, even with the most brilliant coaching staff around, will be crippled.

The feeding frenzy might not be so dramatic as it was last summer, but if nothing is done about these draconian scholarship reductions, sanctions that are particularly punitive to current students and players who had nothing to do with Sandusky's criminal behavior, it will be felt over time.

Penn State Football: On Losing Your Voice When It Comes to Sandusky

Media critic John Ziegler had it right in his newly published online book, "The Betrayal of Joe Paterno", which I recommend that you access here at his website www.framingpaterno.com.  In Chapter 5, entitled "The Firing", Ziegler describes the late night decision of the Board of Trustees to fire Joe Paterno via cell phone at 10 p.m., and then the ensuing "riot" downtown after it became known.

This riot of a few thousand people who were downtown when they heard the news consisted of a trash can fire and the toppling of a news van that created serious damage to the van.  But because all the national media were present, the images became something much more like a full scale riot in the minds of the public.

Never mind that five times as many students turned out two days later for a candlelight vigil on the lawn of Old Main to pray for victims of child abuse, and students and alumni in the next several weeks also raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for child abuse prevention causes at that Saturday's game and beyond.   That didn't get nearly the publicity or the press images.

Penn State Football: It's About That Culture Thing

Why did Louis Freeh determine that Penn State had a so-called "football culture"? 

In his report, Freeh states the following key finding:

"In the Fall of 2000, a University janitor observed Sandusky sexually assault a young boy in the East Area Locker Building and advised co-workers of what he saw.  Also that evening, another janitor saw two pairs of feet in the same shower, and then saw Sandusky and a young boy leaving the locker room holding hands.  Fearing that they would be fired for what they saw, neither janitor reported the incidents to university officials, law enforcement, or child protective agencies."

Later in his report, Freeh describes an interview with one of the janitors involved:  "Janitor B explained to the Special Investigative Counsel that reporting the incident 'would have been like going against the President of the United States in my eyes.' 'I know Paterno has so much power, if he wanted to get rid of someone, I would have been gone.'  He explained, 'football runs this University,' and said the University would have closed ranks to protect the football program at all costs."

And so according to Freeh, even though a more senior janitor discussed with these two janitors how to report what they saw, the two janitors involved decided that because they were fearful of losing their jobs, they would not report a tremendously awful crime.  Or at least that's what they told Freeh twelve years after it happened.

Penn State Football: Solid Performances in a Tumultuous Year

This has been an emotional couple of weeks for any Penn State football fan.  

The 2012 season ended in a fine way, with a superb win against Indiana, and then a tense, passion-filled finish in overtime against a tough Wisconsin team.  In the last two games we saw Matt McGloin and Allen Robinson tie or break offensive records.  At the Indiana game we saw linebacker Michael Mauti get injured.  And we all cried as he was driven off the field in a cart.

At the Wisconsin game we saw the 31 seniors who stayed despite the NCAA sanctions come out onto the field to be honored.

We watched the year 2012 be put up on the east suites wall in honor of them, something that is normally reserved for undefeated years or championship seasons.

Penn State Football: Will Renewing Old Rivalries Be Worth It for Penn State?

Especially if the old rivalries do not include Pittsburgh?

With yesterday's announcement that Maryland will be joining the B1G conference in 2014, and with today's announcement that Rutgers will also join, I have been amused by some of the comments on my Facebook home page deriding the additions.

I suppose, if you were looking at these additions from solely a football point of view, and if you weren't one to travel to watch games in person, you might ask, "What's the point?".   Penn State has played Maryland in football 37 times.  The record against Maryland is 35 wins, one loss, and one tie.

The last time Penn State lost to Maryland was in 1961.  One might look at this move and say that Penn State had found another team to beat up on every year.  In fact that's what numerous people are saying.  Ho hum.  So what?

Penn State at Nebraska: A Rivalry Mired in Controversy Intensifies

There is no turning back the clock.  Not to 1982, when #2 Nebraska played #8 Penn State and lost its chance to play for a national championship due to an errant call on the sidelines.

How do I know that call was errant?   A call that Penn State and Nebraska fans have been arguing about for thirty years?  What Tom Shatel of the Omaha World-Herald called the "Crooked Sideline"? 

Mike McCloskey is the tight end who caught the ball out of bounds that led to Penn State's touchdown and win as time ran out.

At one point in my professional career, before I arrived at Penn State, I happened to talk with someone at work about Penn State football.  This man had been a college football official in 1982.  I don't even remember his name.  But I remember the conversation as if it were yesterday.

Penn State Football at Purdue: A Damp Cold Day Didn't Dampen Penn State

Self, take note.  Next time the weather calls for 30% chance of rain and mid-40's temperatures, pay attention.  Assume it will feel like 25 degrees.  Because at Ross-Ade stadium it did.  In fact it rained quite hard that morning and on the way to the game.  I was prepared with rain gear and lots of layers plus a wool hat but needed better protection for my feet and hands. 

I hadn't packed my warm toasty waterproof boots nor my Goretex waterproof mittens.  Those would have helped immensely!   I should also know better.  No matter how many games I've been to over the years, that first really cold game of a season always seems like one that I'm not quite prepared for.  The Purdue-Penn State game was the first really cold game of the season.  And I was very fortunate that it didn't rain during the game.  It could have been worse.

Penn State Football vs Ohio State: Adversity Reigned in Loss to Buckeyes

Earlier this week I was invited on the student-run radio show Motown Mornings to make a prediction for the Penn State-Ohio State clash at Beaver Stadium.

I'm not one to usually predict scores, in fact yesterday morning I was feeling a bit like I might have jinxed the game by predicting that Penn State would pull off a 30-27 win.  The actual score was 35-23 for Ohio State.

I was in the right neighborhood on total points scored.  But not on the final outcome.

There were, however, a couple of key observations I made on that interview that turned out to be true.

Penn State Football: A MOST Satisfying Win at Iowa and a Call to Action

The gold "America Needs Farmers" campaign rally towels were on every seat, including the seats where the Penn State fans were congregated.  Mixed in with Penn State fans were numerous Iowa fans.  Evidently Penn State had returned some of its seat allotments, and we were unlucky enough to have four Iowa fans - two couples - in front of us swinging their towels with gusto, so our view from the stands for this game looked something like this:

It's not that we minded too much.  Once the score became 24-0 at halftime, and then 31-0 and 38-0 the towels were swung with somewhat less enthusiasm and less often.  One couple stopped swinging their towels when a towel hit my face and I asked them to please stop, which we very much appreciated.   The other couple kept up their non-stop enthusiasm well into the fourth quarter, as Iowa scored two late touchdowns and I ducked a lot to avoid being swatted.   But they also left before the end of the game, well before Iowa's last touchdown made the score 38-14 in favor of Penn State.

Penn State Football at Iowa: It's Time to Win at Kinnick Stadium

It's been a long dry spell at Kinnick Stadium, and I'm not talking about the weather.  In fact, as I write this, it is a misty morning in Iowa City.  The prediction for later today is for clouds giving way to sun and a high of 60, low of 40, winds of 5 mph with gusts up to 7 mph. Right now at 9 a.m. it feels just a bit raw and damp outside.

Yesterday it was windy enough that I started to worry about what I had brought to wear to the game.  So I went to the mall across from the hotel to buy yet another layer of fleece and some light gloves to complement my hooded sweatshirt and light jacket.

With the game starting at 7 p.m. we could be wearing cotton shirts at 3 p.m. and wishing for down jackets at 11 p.m. So layering seems the best approach.

Twenty-Five Years of Marriage...and Penn State Football!

On October 10 my husband Terry and I celebrated our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.  It was a somewhat subdued celebration.  We exchanged sweet anniversary cards in the morning, went out to dinner that evening.  That was about it.  No big fanfare.  As it has been since we were married in 1987 on a perfect fall foliage weekend in New England.

That's just the way we are.  We don't really exchange gifts or do anything really big on these types of occasions. Our attitude is that if there is a particular pleasure that either of us seeks we don't need to wait for a special occasion.  We talk about it and then just do it if we can.

Also, on our anniversary, I had a full schedule of classes and a meeting.  It was the middle of the week.

Still, 25 years is a milestone in so many ways, especially when your marriage is also the start of a very long relationship with Penn State and its football team that has impacted so much of your life, including your career.

Penn State Football: First Ever Homecoming Game - Guest Blog by Kelly Burns

 I am pleased to introduce you to Kelly Burns, a former student who is a passionate football fan.  Here is her perspective on her first Homecoming game after graduating in May with an MBA from Smeal College of Business.  She is also a good photographer, and shares her new perspective from the Club Seats at Beaver Stadium. Enjoy!  Carolyn Todd

This past weekend marked my first Penn State Homecoming Weekend as a ‘full-time’ alumnus. After completing my undergraduate degree at PSU in May 2010, I jumped right into the MBA Program that August and spent an additional two years as a graduate student in Happy Valley.

Penn State Football: The 2012 Mascots at Mid-Season

There is a tradition in my home each football season.  On our fireplace mantel in our family room, the mascots of all the teams that Penn State plays are lined up in the order that we play them.

At the beginning of a season, the mascots are all standing or sitting.  But as we play each game, the only mascots that remain standing are the teams that win.  The rest of the mascots are turned face up and on their backs.

So here, at the halfway point in Penn State's season, is how the mascots appear on our mantel.  I will update this every once in a while throughout the season, and this will appear as one of the pages in the header.

Penn State Football: On The People You Meet at Away Games

The Penn State-Illinois game was the first B1G away game of the season for Penn State. Away games are a different animal from home games.  At Beaver Stadium, there's a normal routine.  You tailgate in the same spot with the same folks, you sit (usually) with the same season ticket holders, unless someone has decided to sell their tickets, which is rare.

Away games are somewhat of a dice throw in terms of where you will be located in the stadium and whom you will meet.  To make it easier for Penn Staters to get together, the Penn State Alumni Association holds a tailgate in a huge tent not too far from the stadium.  That helps.  There are always a few familiar faces to greet you.

Penn State vs. Illinois: Bursting Champaign's Bubble

This week’s Citizens Bank button declared “Burst Champaign’s Bubble”.  It was a very clear message when often the buttons issued at Penn State are ambiguous and can be read either way.  

In front of us a man had made his own button that said:  “Crucify and Deny the Cowardly Illini.”  That more aptly described our mood.  We didn’t want the Penn State team to just burst Illinois’ bubble.  We wanted them to crucify the Illini! 

Penn State vs. Temple: Did the Rainbows Send A Message?

It was appropriate that my 300^th Penn State football game would be against Temple.  Temple has been Penn State’s most consistent competitor, year in and year out, through the twenty-five years I have been regularly following Penn State.  And every one of those Temple games that I have witnessed has been a win. 

The NCAA would differ, but in these awkward days of describing past games that were wins but not really losses either, something called “vacated”, I know what I saw each year.  And since 2005, I have the scoreboard photos to prove it.

In fact, we haven’t lost to Temple since 1941, other than those vacated wins. Yes, Temple is an in-state rival, of sorts.  Yes, there have been some close games, including last year at Lincoln Financial Field, when Penn State barely got away with a 14-10 win.  Temple made all Penn State fans nervous when they led most of the game.  But Penn State prevailed at the end.

Penn State vs. Navy: A Perfect Day for an Historic Win

Yesterday’s Penn State vs. Navy game was sorely needed.  On a perfect fall day at Beaver Stadium, the Navy Midshipmen were soundly defeated 34-7 in front of a crowd of 98,792.   The Penn State team earned their first win under Bill O’Brien’s tenure.  I’m being very deliberate in my choice of words, because I believe that wins belong to the team, not so much to the coaches.

So congratulations to the Penn State team.  It was a well-played and well-deserved win.

Bob Evans, a Penn State alumnus who sits behind us, travels to Penn State with his wife Mary to every home game from North Carolina.  He told me yesterday that the Penn State-Navy atmosphere was one of the best he has seen in years.

Penn State vs. Navy: "Fumbles" Donchez and a Shaky Chris Bahr

Let me first say I wasn’t a Penn State fan in 1974.  I was clueless about college football, and didn’t know anything about the Penn State Nittany Lions. 

But my husband Terry was a fan. In 1970 he moved from Missouri to Pennsylvania to work at Air Products and Chemicals headquarters in Allentown, PA.  His first Penn State football game was actually at the Orange Bowl in Miami, and he was very upset when Penn State won that game.  He was rooting for Missouri.  Before that, he was an Ohio State fan.

But then he moved to Pennsylvania.  Always college football fans, he and his former wife were convinced by the realtor who sold them their house that they should buy Penn State season tickets.  And so they did. 

Terry has held those tickets ever since, and has attended a total of 435 Penn State games since 1970.  The last 272 games he has seen are in a row, and include all home, away, and bowl games played since September 1990.  Terry was at the last Navy vs. Penn State game played in 1974.

Penn State at Virginia: NCAA 1, Penn State 0

There is no way you could have predicted that Penn State would lose Saturday’s game against Virginia, not the way the defense played for most of the game. The defense forced four turnovers and held the Cavaliers to 32 yards net rushing. In addition, Virginia had ten penalties for a net loss of 70 yards.  Penn State had only three for a net loss of 24 yards.

But despite those stats, Penn State was vulnerable. Our kicker missed four field goals, the longest a 42-yarder, and suffered a blocked extra point.  The missed points on the kicking game cost Penn State 13 valuable points. Plus, the defense, despite forcing turnovers, gave up first downs at crucial moments on third and long, on the last winning drive for Virginia.