TicketCity Bowl: Empty Seats, a Testament to Penn State's Scandal-Plagued Finish

The once-great Penn State Nittany Lions football program is now a shadow of its former self following the allegations that shook the nation and led to the dismissal of a coaching staff and school administration.

The Nittany Lions are the lone remaining program without their head coaching position filled. The Penn State program was one that most coaches were waiting to come vacant at the retiring of longtime head coach Joe Paterno. At this point, big-name coaches that could hand pick positions are taking jobs at schools awaiting the NCAA hammer to drop, but no one seems to be biting in Happy Valley.

Joe Paterno stepped down because of the allegations of sexual abuse that plagued the program and those same allegations look to plague the future of the program. This is a much deeper issue than NCAA sanctions. This is convincing young men and their parents that the school has their best interest at hand and that when they move upon State College they will be well looked after with their future protected.

The Nittany Lions faithful also took a major hit with the allegations. A once proud school and the charities that it endorsed are now lathered in controversy. The alumni that gave to the Second Mile Foundation have to be privately embarrassed for their contributions to a society that allegedly enabled horrific things to occur on the campus of Penn State.

The Lions traveled today to face Houston in the TicketCity Bowl in Dallas. Just last season the Penn State football team would draw a crowd to the toilet bowl if they played in it. Now the Nittany Lions are hurting for a following, and there has to be something to say for the embarrassment that the program has faced in the past year. Take a look at this Twitter user's picture of the stadium from the 30-14 Houston victory.

For the Nittany Lions this is a huge hill to climb, facing a fan base that is not on the same page as the administration and a program that looks to be headed in a downward spiral. It isn’t that there are any scholarship limitations or bowl bans that will hurt the program, it is that the current players don’t know the path of the program, much less recruits.

Penn State will rise again and be a great program within the Big Ten. They played well at times this season but once the scandal hit the news wires the program lost control. Penn State has the tradition to build on but they also must overcome the shadow that Jerry Sandusky has cast on the program.

Until then, expect empty stadiums and disappointment across the country when the Nittany Lions travel outside of the confines of Happy Valley. There is a lot left to rebuild and finding a new coaching staff as soon as possible will make a big step towards future success for the Nittany Lions and rekindling relationships with their fanbase.