Jerry Sandusky Sex Scandal: Penn State's Program Will Overcome Rogue Degenerate

College football and scandals go hand-in-hand. There's no point in denying that, and it seems like the next one is always worse than the last.

But the scandal that has enveloped the Penn State football program is beyond bad. Former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky has been accused of sexually abusing young boys, and two administrators have been charged with perjury. The charges essentially allege that they covered up for Sandusky, who was committing his crimes for 15 years between 1994 and 2009.

The ironic part is that all of this is happening at Penn State. The Nittany Lions' football program has long been synonymous with two things: winning and dignity. The latter was stripped from the football program as soon as this scandal came to light. And make no mistake, things are going to get worse before they get better.

That said, you have to understand that things will get better at some point down the road. Penn State is burdened with easily the worst scandal in the history of college sports, but it's not going to hang over the program forever.

I say this primarily for a couple reasons. The first and foremost is that we are talking about a case that stems primarily from the actions of a single man. Assuming he is found guilty, Sandusky is going to pay the price for his crimes. He is facing 40 charges, including 21 felonies, all of which amount to life imprisonment if he is found guilty.

The administrators who covered up for Sandusky, former Athletic Director Tim Curley and former VP for business and finance Gary Schultz, will also get their comeuppance if they are found guilty. Perjury is a crime that calls for seven years of prison time, and both are also facing failure to report charges that carry additional jail time. 

Rest assured, due process will take place and all the unanswered questions in this case will be answered. When they are, justice will be served.

In the meantime, the question will be what kind of actions the NCAA chooses to take. No doubt there will be some penalties, but the thing to keep in mind here is that the Sandusky scandal is, at heart, a legal matter. The key people all have ties to the football program, but the football program itself is something of an innocent bystander in this case.

Whether or not you can say the same thing about longtime head coach Joe Paterno is very much debatable. He's in hot water because he was informed of a 2002 incident involving Sandusky and a young boy in the Penn State football locker room showers, and has been universally accused of not handling the matter properly.

I happen to agree with the majority here. The more you read, the more it becomes clear that Paterno could have done more, and that he basically could have been the man to make sure Sandusky was put behind bars years ago.

One way or another, though, JoePa's days at Penn State are numbered. Whether he leaves on his own terms or is forced out by the university, the soon-to-be 85-year-old Paterno is going to leave in the very near future.

When Paterno is gone, Penn State can institute a full regime change. In addition to a new head coach, the university will need a new athletic director. Presumably, these people will have no connections to the scandal that is currently rocking the university and they will do whatever they can do to put it all in the rear-view mirror.

All of this is going to take time. This is a scandal that will cast a shadow over Penn State for years, and it won't go away immediately after justice is served. Allegations like these are too shocking and too horrendous to be so easily swept aside.

But it will not be impossible to sweep them aside. Penn State football will take its lumps and go through its troubles, but I don't think we are looking at the next SMU. The program will not be in darkness for decades.

Things are as bad as they can possibly be right now. But eventually, this too shall pass.