I currently live in Pennsylvania; however, my first exposure to Penn State football came when I was living in New Jersey.
It was 1977, and I watched a program on Saturdays called The Penn State Story. It was narrated by Ray Scott, a familiar voice in sports announcing circles. The more I watched, the more I liked Penn State, thanks to the distinctive voice of Scott, who called Nittany Lions games from 1975-1981.
The only game I remember watching (until the 1982 season) at a friend’s house just up the street, was a 24-20 loss to Kentucky on Oct. 1. The Wildcats were anchored by future NFL great Art Still, who helped Kentucky prevent No. 4 Penn State from playing in a national championship. It was the Lions’ only loss of the season, while Notre Dame went on to beat Texas in the Cotton Bowl and won the mythical national title.
Five years later, Penn State finally cleared the final hurdle and won the national championship with a 27-23 victory over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. And again four years later. And, almost again eight years later in its second season as a member of the Big Ten Conference.
I pondered, years later when longtime head coach Joe Paterno was fired during the 2011 season, how triumph turned to tragedy, and Paterno, who won 409 games in nearly 46 seasons at Happy Valley, became intertwined in the Jerry Sandusky scandal that erupted in November of that year. Paterno, who said he would answer questions about the allegations, never got the chance. He was unceremoniously terminated, causing an uproar on campus.
While Paterno said the ordeal was his “great sorrow,” the other sorrow was that Paterno did not let go of the mantle until he was let go. I believed then, and still believe, that Paterno should have waved good-bye to the head coaching position after the Nittany Lions won the Rose Bowl following an undefeated 1994 season.
He could have passed the torch to offensive coordinator Fran Ganter and sailed off into the sunset. He didn’t, and he died on Jan. 22, 2012. Though his cause of death was complications from lung cancer, I say he died of a broken heart and deep grief.
Bill O’Brien worked wonders in continuing Paterno’s legacy in his two years at the helm. Penn State went 8-4 in 2012 and 7-5 in 2013, without bowl appearances. That changed in 2014 in James Franklin’s first season as head coach.
Franklin went on to coach 11 more seasons under Paterno’s shadow. The Nittany Lions were good, but not great. His poor record against Top 10 teams (4-21) contributed to his fall from grace. So did three consecutive disastrous losses during the 2025 season (Oregon, UCLA and Northwestern).
There were no uproars on campus when Franklin was fired. But there was a lot of buzz as to why it didn’t happen sooner. Franklin was not the driving force in recruiting. Charles Huff (Penn State’s running backs coach and special teams coordinator at the time) recruited Saquon Barkley, and other assistants had a hand in recruiting other notable players.
Franklin’s job was to assemble the roster and get the most out of the talent. Perhaps Franklin’s great sorrow was that things did not turn out better for many of the teams, like in 2024 when Penn State lost to Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff semifinals – a game the Nittany Lions led 24-17 in the fourth quarter.
Hopefully, first-year head coach Matt Campbell (he of Iowa State fame) can lead Penn State back into elite status, like Paterno did during his career at University Park. Early indications point to a promising start, even though the pre-season polls list the Nittany Lions at about No. 17.
Penn State does not play Ohio State, Oregon or Indiana this season. That doesn’t mean it’ll be an easy season. The Nittany Lions play Michigan and Washington on the road and host USC.
