Jerry Sandusky: Does Penn State Scandal Ruin 2011 College Football Season?

You can't turn on a radio or a television to any station that is remotely associated with sports and not hear about Penn State, Jerry Sandusky, or Joe Paterno. It's depressing.

This was shaping up to be a fun college football season and yes, Penn State, for its play on the field, was part of the story.

We had undefeated teams making runs at the title, BCS controversy and two great teams that played each other in a epic game when Alabama met LSU.

If you like offense, we have great offensive teams in Oklahoma State and Oregon, and a special once in an era prospect at quarterback, in Andrew Luck of Stanford.

However, there is no escaping this story. And, it isn't going to die, it is really just getting started.

Lawyers have been hired, charges have been filed, believe me, that all will be covered incessantly.

Does it ruin 2011?

For me, it doesn't. You have to separate the issues, they really aren't connected.

Obviously, this story ruins the season for Penn State and its supporters, but it isn't like this kind of thing is running rampant throughout college football, thank goodness.

Of course, there are schools with recruiting violations, and every few years a school is outed for those kinds of violations, see Ohio State and USC.

This is a horrible story from a societal standpoint and I am by no means diminishing it, but it doesn't ruin the season because it doesn't change the integrity of the game on the field, just the integrity of one university.

Things like recruiting violations clearly changes the outcomes of games. While this is one heinous and egregious and heartbreaking scandal, it shouldn't ruin the 2011 college football season.