Penn State Football: Will the Scandal Lead to Nittany Lions Losing Out?

Right now, Penn State is 8-2 and sitting atop the Big Ten Leaders division, and the Nittany Lions have full control of their own Big Ten championship destiny. However, the team’s run at a conference championship has definitely become an afterthought in the wake of the horrific sex abuse scandal that has rocked State College.

Last Saturday, Penn State took the field for the first time since the scandal broke, without its recently terminated longtime head coach Joe Paterno.

The Nittany Lions, as expected, looked noticeably sluggish and out-of-sync, especially on offense, as they dug themselves a 17-0 hole against Nebraska, before eventually rallying back with two touchdowns in the second half. The hole proved to be too deep, though, and the offense just didn’t have the firepower to come all the way back, as the Lions ended up coming up short 17-14.

You have to like the fight and the effort that you saw out of Penn State in the second half last week, but you also have to wonder how heavily the scandal, the loss of coach Paterno and all the rest of the outside distractions swirling around the school are weighing on the minds of the players and coaches right now, as they prepare for the final two games of the season.

It doesn’t help that the Nittany Lions finish off the year with two tremendously challenging road trips to Ohio State and Wisconsin.

This week, it’s all about the Buckeyes, who are likely going to come into this Saturday’s game with a little extra motivation after losing to Purdue in overtime last week.

Ohio State is still very much in the running to win the Leaders division, as is Wisconsin, the opponent that the Nittany Lions will face in their final game of the regular season on Nov. 26.

With such a tough remaining schedule, it will be interesting to see if Penn State can find the strength and the willpower to stave off their division challengers, or if they’ll simply get overwhelmed by the circumstances and stumble down the stretch.

Penn State’s defense, led by standout players like DT Devon Still, LB Gerald Hodges and S Drew Astorino, is one of the strongest defensive units in the country, and it ranks in the Top 10 nationally in both scoring defense and total defense, giving up an average of just 13 points and 287 yards per game.

The big question is the offense, which has often looked stale and has lacked explosion this year, as the Nittany Lions have only topped the 30-point mark in just three games.

If Penn State wants to salvage its season and make it to Indianapolis for the Big Ten title game, it’s going to be up to QB Matt McGloin to get this offense moving with more consistency.

It certainly won’t be easy to do in two tough road environments like Ohio State and Wisconsin, but if the Nittany Lions don’t start getting more productivity out of their offense, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them finish the season with three straight losses after starting off the year 8-1.