How Can Joe Paterno Survive?

Happy Valley, Pennsylvania is far from a happy place.

In the last 96 hours or so, the news about the alleged child exploitation by former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky has soiled the once proud institution. It seems there is plenty of shared blame attached to the situation. Take your pick from the school’s president to the former athletic director and business manager. Even legendary football coach Joe Paterno is in the firing line.

Paterno’s knowledge of the situation appears cloudy. I imagine we will learn more as the facts continue to become available. But I cannot see JoePa surviving this situation. Paterno is under fire for his association with Sandusky and not doing more than simply reporting what he knew (about Sandusky’s conduct) to the athletic director.

Will JoePa resign this week? I doubt it. The guy is a fighter. Many have called for his resignation for a number of years and the ‘ole guy is still coaching. But will the pressure get to him enough where he will quit following the season?

The charges against Sandusky are obviously extremely serious. The sad thing is there are many dominos falling besides Sandusky. JoePa could be one of those particular dominos.

Wrong About Penn State and Iowa

It was pretty ugly in Happy Valley Saturday. I mean, who tuned in to watch a 13-3 ballgame? I certainly wasn’t predicting a low score game if you recall my Friday blog.

But the game was frankly boring. Both teams combined for three field goals and one touchdown. Penn State had a total of two field goals to Iowa’s one for a 6-3 halftime lead. The Lions tallied the lone touchdown in the second half.

This was Big Ten Conference football from many years ago. Bo and Woody would have probably enjoyed it. The spread offense has actually appeared in the conference but not on this day. Oh for those 34-27 games.

But I’m sure Joe Paterno didn’t complain. He was 1-8 against Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz before Saturday’s game. At JoePa’s age, a win is a win.

What happened to Iowa’s offense? The Hawkeyes had been scoring plenty of points. But their Saturday performance was dismal.

Penn State is probably not as bad as I thought. Iowa’s young team definitely took a couple steps backward.