Penn State Football: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Through Week 9

Penn State stands at 8-1 heading into their Week 9 bye, which sets the stage for a huge home game against the No. 10 Nebraska Cornhuskers in Week 10.

The Nittany Lions have won ugly, defensive football games. They currently rank 101st in scoring offense, but are third in the nation in scoring defense.

Penn State's defensive success is something to hang their hat on and lends optimism to their final three regular season games. After their Week 10 Nebraska matchup, the Nittany Lions must travel to face Ohio State and Wisconsin.

If Penn State does not fix a few flaws they could drop all three of their final games. An epic collapse will not bode well with an already-skeptical fan base. An 8-1 mark is hard enough to believe without proving why down the stretch.

Some things have been great for Penn State, others not as much. Some areas have been downright awful.

Here are the good, the bad and the ugly from Penn State's first nine games:

No. 3 Scoring Defense in the Nation

Penn State is giving up 12.4 points per game. Despite their abysmal offense, Penn State's defense consistently carries its team to victory.

Alabama put up 27 points on the Nittany Lion defense in Week 2. The only team close to that total was Northwestern with 24 points in Week 8.

During stormy seasons Penn State can usually rely upon its defense to carry the torch. This season is no different.

The Nittany Lion defense has gotten solid play at all three levels.

Devon Still and Jordan Hill have emerged as one of the best interior line duos in the nation. Gerald Hodges and Glenn Carson lead a Michael Mauti-less linebacking corps with success. And Drew Astorino and Nick Sukay commandeer a solid Penn State secondary.

If Penn State wants to hit the 10-win mark, its defense will need to play at its highest level each week.

Silas Redd Has over 1,000 Rushing Yards

Silas Redd was Penn State's most dangerous offensive weapon coming into the season. Through nine games, that fact hasn't changed a bit.

Redd has 1,006 yards and seven touchdowns through nine games. He is averaging just over five yards per carry.

Penn State's quarterback situation has been questionable, at best, this season. Redd has taken on a larger workload as the season progresses. He continues to get better, running for over 100 yards in five straight games.

Redd is extremely explosive and very shifty in the open field. He seems to be developing more power between the tackles and is more liable to break tackles.

The Nittany Lion quarterback situation may be better, but it is far from elite. Until that changes, Redd must be a workhorse out of the Nittany Lion backfield.

Joe Paterno Passes Eddie Robinson as Division I Wins Leader

Penn State defeated Illinois in Week 9 to move to 8-1 on the season. However, this victory was much more significant than that.

The Illinois victory was Joe Paterno's 409th victory as a Division I head coach. This victory put Paterno past legendary Grambling coach Eddie Robinson as the all-time leader in Division I wins.

Paterno's resume and prestige is unrivaled among college football head coaches. He is Penn State football.

The mark Paterno has made on the Penn State program cannot be replaced, and will never be repeated. Passing Robinson is yet another reason to remember Paterno once his coaching time passes.

Defeating Indiana, 16-10, in Week 5

Penn State defeated Indiana,16-10, in Week 5. It's hard to call a victory bad under any circumstance. However, squeaking by the Hoosiers isn't something to be proud of.

Indiana isn't good this season. Currently at 1-8, the Hoosiers are 89th in scoring offense and 114th in scoring defense. Despite being 114th, the Nittany Lions managed a meager 16 points.

That is Penn State's offense this season, in a nutshell.

Maybe Penn State was looking past the Hoosiers to their Week 6 matchup against Iowa. Either way this is a Hoosier team that surrendered 34 points to Virginia and 59 to Northwestern. Virginia and Northwestern could be worse, but you get the point.

Obviously Penn State will take the win and move forward, but Week 5 was not a shining moment for this team.

The Wide Receivers

Penn State's wide receivers should be a strong point on an otherwise unsettled offense. Through nine games, they haven't been. Dropped passes and poor quarterbacking don't help.

Derek Moye, Justin Brown, Devon Smith and Brandon Moseby-Felder provide a solid group of targets on offense. All have the size, besides Smith, to move the chains as possession receivers.

However, Penn State's receivers have had trouble holding onto passes throughout the year. Some of this is on their hands, but part of the onus falls on the uncertainty behind center.

Moye leads the Nittany Lions with 30 catches and three touchdowns, despite missing games due to a foot injury. Brown has 29 catches and one touchdown.

Those numbers should be higher. Penn State must find a way to get their receivers involved and allow them to get comfortable.

If they can, those numbers will wind up where they should be.

Robert Bolden's Decline

Penn State has dealt with a murky quarterback situation all season. Robert Bolden and Matt McGloin can't seize the job based on performance, and neither has a past reputation to write home about.

McGloin seems to have the job in hand after a few solid performances. On the other hand, Bolden continues to wither away.

Bolden entered Penn State facing high expectations. He earned the starting job as a freshman last season, only to lose it to injury and poor production.

Since then, Bolden hasn't been the same. He plays scared and is afraid to make a mistake. That attitude will never work for successful signal-callers.

Penn State fans regret seeing Bolden become damaged goods on the Penn State sideline. A 4-star prospect to underachieving semi-starter.

It's a bad situation that isn't going to get better anytime soon.

The Inability to Score Points

Penn State is ranked 101st in scoring offense at 21.8 points per game. This is inflated by lopsided performances against Indiana State and Eastern Michigan.

It's ugly that 21.8 points per game is inflated. The Nittany Lions have had no consistency, flow or urgency to their offense all season.

Blame it on the two-quarterback system, the offensive line or the coaching. No matter how you cut it, Penn State isn't scoring.

If Penn State hopes to escape with victories against its final three opponents, the offense must get on the bus and come to the game.

Winning games ugly is fine, but against talented Big Ten squads, Penn State will only survive for so long without an offense.

Michael Mauti's Injury

Penn State lost its best defensive player for the season in Week 4 against Eastern Michigan.

Michael Mauti was the main cog in a very deep and talented Penn State linebacking corps. He was their leading tackler and emotional leader on the field.

Penn State's defensive depth has kept them afloat despite Mauti's absence. They are missing a major playmaker, but the overall effort of the defense has been outstanding.

The Nittany Lions are known as "Linebacker U" for a reason. Gerald Hodges, Glenn Carson, Nathan Stupar and others have helped soften a major loss.

Mauti's presence is missed. However, Penn State has adjusted admirably without their go-to guy.

Joe Paterno's New Coaching Location

Most head coaches patrol the sidelines with overzealous fervor. They get their players ready before the game and make sure the sideline is in order during the game.

Joe Paterno has not had that luxury this season. An early-season injury has forced the Penn State legend to perform his coaching duties from the press box.

This doesn't have a direct effect on Penn State's performance. But it is ugly. No one wants to see a coaching legend face restrictions. Paterno's absence on the sideline is a grim reminder of Penn State's uncertain coaching future.

Paterno is in the final season of his current contract. The university wants to wait until the season is over to discuss a new deal. Paterno's health and newly questioned leadership will play a factor in their decision.

New deal or not, the pictured expression on Paterno's face says it all.