Nebraska vs. Penn State 2011: Loss Only Makes Week Worse at Penn State

With a final score of 17-14, perhaps the result of the Penn State and Nebraska game would have had a different result with former coach Joe Paterno on the sidelines.

It doesn't even matter if it was as the head coach. His presence alone would have propelled this team to come back in the final minutes. Perhaps they wouldn't have even been in this situation at that point in the game.

Following everything that happened, the Penn State faithful, perhaps even America, needed a reason to feel good about this program. The loss just puts another dent in what has been a terrible week for Penn State.

If the Nittany Lions would have won, nothing would have been forgotten, but people would have at least had something to be positive about with the program. Now, the Nittany Lions are likely going to drop in the BCS rankings, which could mean the end of this program this season.

If firing Paterno wasn't enough, this was definitely the nail in the coffin. The Ohio State game next week will not be any easier, especially on the road. The situation will continue to move into the past, but the fact is that Paterno will not be back and this program will always have this situation resting on their conscience. Eyes will be on them for the rest of the college football season.

Penn State is still sitting at 8-2 on the season, and it really has been a successful season overall. It is terrible what effect the past will have on the present of this program, but the university has to be responsible for what happened.

If this whole case wasn't going on, Penn State could have likely won this game. The fact is that they didn't, and at this point in time, things just continue to be on a constant downward spiral for Penn State.

Despite everything that is going on, one can only hope that things can at least be somewhat brighter for the fans and the players, as neither deserves to be punished.

There will continue to be dark clouds over Penn State for weeks to come, possibly longer. Sooner or later, things will get better.