Blue White Illustrated

Lions surprise critics by winning the Or- ange Bowl and just missing out on a chance at the national championship. Three cru- cial plays exemplify the heart and soul of the team: The Lions overcome a stunning 23-7 de>cit at Northwestern on Sept. 24 only to trail again, 29-27, with 1:39 leB. Facing fourth-and-15 at Penn State's 15- yard line, Robinson, under a heavy rush, completes a 20-yard pass to Isaac Smolko. Less than 40 seconds later, with no time- outs leB, Penn State is at Northwestern's 36-yard line and is facing third-and-6. Robinson throws to Williams at the 10- yard line as he is buried by two linebackers and doesn't see Williams catch the ball, avoid a tackler and score the winning touchdown. Two weeks later, No. 16 Penn State is protecting a 17-10 lead over No. 6 Ohio State, but the Buckeyes are on the move at the Lions' 26-yard line with 1:28 leB when defensive end Tamba Hali strips the ball away as he smashes Buckeyes quarterback Troy Smith. Tackle Scott Pax- son recovers to give Penn State the win and the No. 8 ranking in the polls. However, in the next game at Michigan on Oct. 15, the Lions lose a 27-25 heartbreaker on the last play aBer the Wolverines are given two extra seconds in a controversial oA- ciating decision. The team rebounds and goes on to beat Florida State in three over- times at the Orange Bowl to >nish No. 3 in the >nal polls and resurrect Paterno's career. OCT. 29, 2011 A great moment that be- comes a disconsolate and melancholy one in the aBermath of the Sandusky scandal. Paterno wins his 409th game on a snowy day at Beaver Stadium, as Penn State rallies from a 7-3 de>cit with a 96-yard drive in the last two minutes for a 3-yard touchdown with 1:08 leB but needs a missed >eld goal by Illinois on the last play to preserve the 10-7 victory. Nine months later, the NCAA vacates that win and 110 others as part of its sanctions, leaving Paterno with 298 lifetime victo- ries. JANUARY 2012-DECEMBER 2013 No one knew it when Bill O'Brien was intro- duced Jan. 6 as Penn State's >rst new head coach in 47 years, but the Brown graduate and his experienced sta@ of assistants would save the Penn State football program in the aBermath of the draconian sanctions by the NCAA. Working closely with the senior and junior leadership, O'Brien de- velops a team camaraderie that shocks the college football world with winning seasons in 2012 (8-4) and 2013 (7-5). Al- though O'Brien leaves to pursue his am- bition of being a head coach in the NFL, Nittany Nation will always be grateful for his hard work and dedication in the darkest period of Penn State football. JULY-SEPTEMBER 2012 The NCAA and Big Ten sanctions, including scholarship limitations, a bowl ban and player transfer rights, are handed down on July 23, shaking the foundation of the football team. Michael Mauti and Michael Zordich, whose fathers played for Penn State, lead a coali- tion of seniors and others to persevere despite the punishment and all but about a dozen players eventually reject the trans- fer option and re-commit to Penn State. To show their support, thousands of fans join an impromptu early-morning pep rally at the football facility four days before the opening of preseason practice. Zordich says, "It shows you what Penn State is all about." Later that day, more than 400 lettermen from all over the country meet privately with the team and coaches in what is described later as an inspirational gathering of the Penn State football family. game on ferocious tackles by the same player; and the much-maligned 6-4 loss to Iowa before a Homecoming crowd on Oct. 23, 2004, that may be the dullest and ugliest game of the Paterno era. NOV. 4, 2006 Paterno is injured on the sideline in a collision with a Wis- consin linebacker and Lion tight end early in the third quarter at Madison and leaves a game that the Lions even- tually lose, 13-3. Surgery is required the next week for a shin bone fracture and ligament damage to Paterno's leB knee. He misses the Lions' next game, a 47-0 victory over Temple at Beaver Stadium, but coaches the >nal game of the regu- lar season from the Penn State press box, as the Lions defeat Michigan State, 17-13. Amid speculation that the injury will end his career, the 80-year-old Pa- terno bounces back, using a cane or crutch when again forced to coach from a press box in Penn State's 20-10 win over Tennessee in the Outback Bowl. NOVEMBER 2008-JANUARY 2009 A potentially great season is knocked awry Nov. 8 at Iowa when No. 3 Penn State blows a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter and loses, 24-23, on a 31- yard >eld goal on the last play of the game. The Lions go on to beat Indiana and Michigan State but are routed by Southern Cal in the Rose Bowl, 38-24. NOVEMBER 2011-JUNE 2012 The darkest period in the history of Penn State football begins with the arrest of former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandsusky on child sex abuse charges Nov. 5. Sandusky's arrest is followed by the >ring of Paterno four days later, the revelation of Paterno's lung cancer on Nov. 18 and his death Jan. 22, 2012. Six months later, Sandusky is convicted and sentenced to 30 to 60 years in prison. JULY 2012 Penn State's darkest period becomes a tsunami with the release of the Freeh report on July 12 following an investigation ordered by the board of trustees that alleges a cover-up of San- dusky's crimes to protect the football program. On July 23, the NCAA and Big Ten slam Penn State with the toughest sanctions they could hand down short of suspending the football program. OCT. 26, 2013 Ohio State crushes the undermanned Nittany Lions in Colum- bus, 63-14 – coincidently, the same score by which Penn State defeated Ohio State in 1994 – handing them their worst de- feat since a 64-5 loss to the Duquesne Athletic Club on Nov. 25, 1899. SEPT. 27, 2014 A 29-6 upset loss to 10-point underdog Northwestern stops Penn State's four-game undefeated streak at the start of the season. The moment is mentioned only brie?y here because it's probable another bad mo- ment this year will replace it in this worst top 10 listing. – L.P.

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