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MATT HERB M A T T @ B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Lions' fallen linebacker is a leader for the ages Following Penn State's 45-22 vic- tory over Indiana, John Urschel was asked whether his injured teammate Michael Mauti reminded him of any- one. Yes, Urschel said: Odysseus. In "The Odyssey," it takes Odysseus 10 years to return from the Trojan War. "And all the while," Urschel said, "as he's trying to make it back, he faces troubles and set- backs. But he's determined and fo- cused to get back home, to stay the course. And no matter what gets in his way – the Cyclops, the Sirens – he stays dedicated to get back to his family. I see a lot of parallels be- tween Mauti and him, and how Mauti just comes back and keeps playing." What does it tell us when the first thing that pops into Urschel's head is a piece of classical Greek mythol- ogy? Well, for one thing, it tells us that his 4.0 GPA is legit. It also tells us about the high re- gard that his teammates have for Mauti, as well as their empathy for the trials that he's been through at Penn State, trials that few players before him have ever endured. Mauti went down in the first quar- ter Saturday after Indiana running back D'Angelo Roberts tumbled into his left knee. While coach Bill O'Brien declined to elaborate on the extent of his injury following the game, the somber mood in the media room and the sight of the senior line- backer on crutches in the fourth quarter gave every indication that his Penn State playing career is over. Mauti was having a tremendous senior season, and the possibility that his ACL has once again been torn – he's had two previous ACL in- juries – is saddening both for a player who had seemingly put him- self in position to be a high NFL Draft pick and also for Penn State, which will likely be forced to face Wisconsin without its acknowledged leader. With so much of the postgame jubi- lation dampened by Mauti's injury, the Indiana game ended up as a mi- crocosm of Penn State's season. These past three months have been the definition of bittersweet. The Nit- tany Lions' triumphs – bounce-back victories against Navy and Temple, lopsided wins on the road against Iowa, Illinois and Purdue, the fourth- quarter rally against Northwestern – have played out against the dark backdrop of the NCAA sanctions, which will ensure that the whole shebang comes to a premature end next week against the Badgers, not in the sort of sunny tourist destina- tion that a seven- or eight-win sea- son usually affords a team. But the fact that this team now has assured itself of a winning season is a testament to its resilience. In Au- gust, most college football pundits seemed to think there wouldn't be many victories. The off-season had been horrific. Surely, the season it- self would be lousy, too – all bitter and no sweet. But the Nittany Lions have been competitive every week, including in losses to Ohio State and Nebraska. In the process, they've shown ad- mirable resilience. They've lost only four games, and they've followed three of those defeats with a double- digit victory the following week. They did so again Saturday. The controversial Nebraska game? On Saturday it seemed as ancient as all that Greek mythology Urschel was invoking. Even after losing Mauti in the first quarter, the Lions main- tained their intensity. Eventually, the offense began to click and the Nittany Lions built up enough of a lead that they were able to withstand Indiana's frantic third-quarter come- back. "I think this team is a bunch of re- N O V E M B E R 1 7 , 2 0 1 2 4 John Beale CURTAIN CALL Mauti waves to the crowd at Beaver Stadium after returning to the field. silient guys," O'Brien said. "When a guy like that who's a leader on your football team goes down in a game, it was a good response. And we've got a bunch of veterans on defense, with [Gerald] Hodges and Glenn Carson and Jordan Hill and Stephon Morris, guys who've played a lot of football. They knew what they had to do, and offensively we finally got it going in the second quarter." In that sense, they take after their emotional leader. Few players in school history have shown more re- silience than Mauti, and while no one in the Penn State locker room was in a position to offer a medical opinion about his future in the game, they do know what's in his heart. "At the end of the day, he's a foot- ball player," Urschel said. "I have no doubt that if he wants to, he'll be back. He'll be playing on Sundays. He'll do it, because he's that type of guy." B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M

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