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his staff. The bad news is that the Nittany Lions have had ample oppor- tunities to show just how resilient they are. Case in point: their 45-22 victory over Indiana. It should have inspired jubilation, as it assured the team of a winning season and came at the ex- pense of an Indiana squad that has come a long way in a short time un- der second-year coach Kevin Wilson. But senior linebacker Michael Mauti went down with a knee injury in the first quarter after Hoosiers running back D'Angelo Roberts tumbled into his left knee while trying to throw a block, and the sight of Mauti being carted off the field cast a pall over the rest of the afternoon. John Urschel compared Mauti's plight to that of Odysseus, whose voyage home from the Trojan War in Homer's "Odyssey" takes 10 years. "And all the while," Urschel said, "as he's trying to make it back, he faces troubles and setbacks. But he's de- termined and focused to get back home, to stay the course. And no matter what gets in his way – the Cy- clops, the Sirens – he stays dedicated to get back to his family. I see a lot of parallels between Mauti and him, and how Mauti just comes back and keeps playing." With the postgame celebration tem- pered by Mauti's injury, the Indiana game ended up as a microcosm of Penn State's season. These past three months have been the definition of bittersweet. The Nittany Lions' tri- umphs – 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 ensured that everything would come to a prema- ture end against Wisconsin, not in the sort of sunny tourist destination that a seven- or eight-win season usually assures a team. But the fact that this team finished with a winning season is a testament to its resilience. In August, most col- lege football pundits seemed to think there wouldn't be many victories. The off-season had been horrific. Surely, the season itself would be lousy, too – all bitter and no sweet. But the Nittany Lions were competi- tive every week, including in losses to Ohio State and Nebraska. In the process, they showed great mental toughness. Heading into the finale against the Badgers, they had lost only four games, and they had fol- lowed three of those defeats with a double-digit victory the following week. They did just that vs. the Hoosiers. The controversial Nebraska game? It seemed as ancient as all that Greek mythology Urschel was invoking. Even after losing Mauti in the first quarter, the Lions maintained their intensity. Eventually, the offense be- gan to click and the Nittany Lions built up enough of a lead that they were able to withstand Indiana's fran- tic third-quarter comeback. "I think this team is a bunch of re- 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." In that sense, they took after their emotional leader. Few players in school history have shown more per- severance than Mauti, and while no one in the Penn State locker room was in a position to offer a medical opinion about his future, players did know what was in his heart. "At the end of the day, he's a football 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, be- cause he's that type of guy." The Nittany Lions seemed to have more than few of those guys on their roster this season, many of them sen- iors. They may not have been as cele- brated as Mauti, but they all played their roles. With any luck, the fresh- men, sophomores and juniors were paying attention. Because if Penn State is to persevere through its own odyssey, they'll be the ones leading the way. www.AmericanAleHouse.net 821 Cricklewood Drive, Toftrees State College Now in 2 Locations

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