Blue White Illustrated

OCT. 16, 1993 Threatening to penal- ize Penn State early in the >rst half be- cause of the crowd noise is the start of an all-around bad game in the >rst meeting between these two teams. However, the worst moment is Michi- gan's goal-line stand on four plays from the 1-yard line in the third quar- ter, which eventually leads to a 21-13 defeat and the gloating comments by Wolverine players such as, "You have to pay your dues" and "If they really want the Big Ten championship, they have to take it from us." NOV. 6, 1999 Penn State, ranked No. 2 in the polls and poised to play for the national championship, allows a 47-yard Hail Mary pass on fourth- and-16 with seconds left against Min- nesota. The Gophers kick a 32-yard field goal on the last play of the game for a 24-23 victory. The demoralizing defeat sends the team into a tailspin. It loses to Michigan and Michigan State before salvaging the season with an Alamo Bowl victory over Texas A&M. MAY-DECEMBER 2000 Quarterback Rashard Casey is arrested for alleged- ly assaulting a police officer in his New Jersey hometown May 14. Months later, Casey is cleared of all charges, and in 2003 he settles a law- suit against the police, but the bad karma continues in a 24-6 loss to heavy underdog Toledo, an embar- rassing 12-0 defeat at Pittsburgh in the last game played between the once-bitter rivals until 2016, the par- alyzing injury to freshman cornerback Adam Taliaferro at Ohio State and ul- timately a 5-7 record that was a har- binger of the next four years. AUGUST 2000-DECEMBER 2004 This >ve-year downturn, marred by four losing seasons, is epitomized by three games in addition to the aforementioned losses: at Virginia on Dec. 1, 2001, when a controversial return of a fumble for a 92-yard touchdown liBs the downtrod- den Cavaliers to a 20-14 upset; a 16-3 defeat at Wisconsin on Sept. 25, 2004, in which quarterbacks Zack Mills and Michael Robinson are knocked out of the the fourth quarter. Then with 3:31 leB, defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy blocks Ohio State's 34-yard >eld goal to clinch the milestone victory. SEPT. 28, 2002 Frustrated by the oA- ciating in a 42-35 overtime loss to Iowa aBer coming back from a 22-point de>cit with eight minutes leB, Paterno chases referee Dick Honig aBer the game and stops him with a yank on his shirt. "I thought they made a couple of lousy calls on the other side of the >eld," Paterno tells reporters later, referring in part to an Iowa pass completion in overtime that set up the winning touchdown. Television replays indicate Paterno was correct. When he also complains a few days later that the oAciating crew that worked the Iowa game also was on the >eld for Penn State's controversial loss at Michigan the previous year, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany warns Paterno not to cross a line "imputing bad intentions." Paterno's public complaint about oAciating eventually is supported by other Big Ten athletic departments, and in 2004 the league becomes the >rst to utilize television replays under a special experimental arrangement with the NCAA. AUGUST 2002-JANUARY 2003 ABer serving as a backup his >rst three seasons, senior tailback Larry Johnson becomes a record-breaking All-America rusher in 2002, >nishing third in the Heisman Tro- phy voting and leading Penn State into another New Year's Day bowl game. John- son wins the Maxwell and Doak Walker (running back) awards while setting nine team rushing records that still stand, in- cluding most yards in a season (2,087) and game (327). When the Lions lose to Auburn in the Capital One Bowl, 13-9, Johnson vociferously criticizes the coach- ing sta@ for not using him enough, and he leaves Penn State under a dark cloud. Still, this will be Penn State's only winning season in a disheartening >ve-year stretch. OCT. 9, 2004 A new tradition begins called a "White Out" with fans at Beaver Stadium wearing white clothing for certain games. It is created by then-assistant athletic director Guido D'Elia, who organizes stu- dents to dress in white for a 4:30 p.m. game against No. 9 Purdue, a 10-point favorite. Penn State loses, 20-13, but White Outs become popular as they expand to include all Nittany Lions fans, not just students. NOVEMBER 2004-FEBRUARY 2005 Paterno begins the rejuvenation of his sagging career during a four-month period in which there is much speculation about his possible dismissal or retirement. ABer an unprecedented six consecutive defeats in 2004, Penn State stops the losing streak on Nov. 13 at Indiana with a late-fourth- quarter goal-line stand to preserve a 22- 18 victory. The win ignites a late-career renaissance in which Penn State prevails in 66 of Paterno's >nal 86 games, including his 409th victory. Paterno discloses months later that a few days before the Indiana game he met privately with four administrative oAcials concerning his job. Within weeks of the Indiana win, one of the nation's most highly sought recruits, receiver Derrick Williams from Maryland, commits to the Nittany Lions, joining an- other blue-chipper, cornerback Justin King from Pennsylvania. Those two players go on to form the cornerstone of an out- standing freshman class that would help lead Penn State back to the elite of college football. SEPTEMBER 2005-JANUARY 2006 With versatile senior Michael Robinson getting his >rst crack as Penn State's start- ing quarterback, and a talented group of true freshmen stepping into key roles, the And a few moments to forget...

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