The Conspiracy of Silence

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"The most saddening finding is the total disregard by the most senior leaders at Penn State for the safety and welfare of Sandusky's child victims. ... Four of the most powerful people at ... Penn State ... failed to protect against a child sexual predator harming children for over a decade."

Freeh Report

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I have a friend who has been a Penn State fan for — well — his whole life.

And I have thought of him every time the tragic story of Penn State and Jerry Sandusky has been in the news.

Each time, I hoped it would be the last time I would hear about Sandusky. But each time I have been wrong.

And now, I think, the shame that he brought to the university will live in infamy. It might have, anyway, but now I am certain of it.

See, my observation in my life has been that, once something has a commission or a committee assigned to investigate it — and that investigating body issues a report — that is what happens.

The Warren Commission, the Ervin Committee, the Tower Commission, the 9–11 Report. You can find 'em in any history book.

And now you'll be able to find one in the story of Penn State.

So, with the knowledge that Sandusky was convicted several months ago on nearly four dozen counts of sexual abuse and related crimes and with today's release of the Freeh Report that implicated Sandusky's former boss, late coach Joe Paterno, Penn State ex–President Graham Spanier, former athletic director Tim Curley and former vice president Gary Schultz, I wonder if this is really the end for this story.

There will be a report on the library shelves of every college and university — including, I presume, Penn State — that will testify to Penn State's shame.

Sandusky will spend the rest of his life in prison. Of his high–ranking enablers, Paterno — the respected and beloved coach whose high standards were legendary — was an "integral part" of an active effort to avoid negative publicity, today's report said.

And that is a tragic blow to the legacy of a man who was held in such high regard even by his foes.

For, you see, that is a revelation that rips at the very fabric of America. In what may be a mindless (and dangerous) automatic reflex, Americans have always placed great faith — blind faith — in authority figures — teachers, pastors, coaches — and I think most people could tell you of at least one authority figure who influenced the course of their lives.

So deeply ingrained is this faith in authority figures that the mind recoils from the thought that someone in whom such trust has been placed could so callously toss it aside — and that others, the highest–ranking officials at a major university, could engage in a conspiracy to prevent his crimes from becoming known to the public.

They were more than simply enablers. They held positions of trust, and they violated that trust.

And now there is a report — under the name of none other than the former director of the FBI — that bears witness to the "total disregard" they showed for the children who looked to them for guidance.

People have been known to get over many things. They are resilient beyond anything that can be imagined.

But one thing people almost never seem to get over is betrayal.

JoePa's Final Chapter

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After the child sex scandal that engulfed Penn State only a few months ago, there simply was no way that Joe Paterno's obituary — when the time for it came — would not mention Jerry Sandusky.

In fact, I remember saying that very thing to some people right after Paterno was fired. I just didn't realize Paterno's obituary would be written so soon.

But, like Richard Nixon, who lived nearly 20 years after he resigned the presidency but whose obituary still mentioned Watergate in the first paragraph, it was inevitable that, at the time of his passing, Paterno would be remembered, at least in part, for the scandal that ended his coaching career.

• Paterno was a "a legend, lion and tainted leader," wrote Rana Cash for The Sporting News.


• The first paragraph of ESPN's obituary observed that Paterno "won more games than anyone in major college football but was fired amid a child sex abuse scandal that scarred his reputation for winning with integrity."


• Paterno was an "Ivy League–educated coach who transformed sleepy Penn State University into a national football power ... only to see his career end abruptly and his legacy tarnished," wrote Chris Dufresne in the Los Angeles Times.


• The New York Times has long had the reputation for writing the best and most thorough obituaries in the print business, but Richard Goldstein, nevertheless, could not avoid mentioning the scandal in his summation of Paterno's life.
  
  Paterno, he wrote, was "a symbol of integrity in collegiate athletics only to be fired ... amid a child sexual–abuse scandal."

Try as they might, no obituary — at least, none that I have seen today — has been able to avoid mentioning the scandal.

And some really have tried.

John Canzano, writing in The Oregonian last night when rumors were swirling that Paterno was dead, spoke of the "sad irony" that JoePa's life had become.

"[N]o discussion about Paterno will ever be complete without noting that Penn State's Board of Trustees fired him Nov. 9 in the aftermath of the child sex abuse charges against former assistant and close Paterno friend Jerry Sandusky," Canzano wrote — anticipating by a matter of hours the challenge facing those who would write Paterno's obituary.

Perhaps Jack McCallum of Sports Illustrated did the best job of balancing the good and the bad.

"For so long," McCallum wrote, "Joe Paterno seemed indestructible, more icon than man ... But when the end came, it came with such breathtaking suddenness that even non–believers must pause ... to wonder if it wasn't part of some cosmic script."

In the end, I suppose, we are left with our contradictory thoughts and feelings about this man who did so much good but whose memory will be forever linked to so much bad.

Taking Sides

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The Penn State story — and it really isn't necessary for me to elaborate on that at this point, is there? — is one that will not go away.

I was talking about it with my father yesterday. A lifelong sports fan, he reminded me during our conversation that, when choosing sides in a game, he ordinarily prefers to support a team rather than oppose one.

It's kind of like voting, really. My parents preferred to vote for someone they admired rather than against someone they despised, but they didn't always have a choice. Sometimes, they had to select "the lesser of two evils."

Dad said that, until the middle of last week, he hadn't decided whether he would root for Nebraska or Penn State in today's football game.

He's always been relatively neutral about both football programs. There are some football teams he just doesn't like, for one reason or another (and some of them go back to things that most people either never knew or forgot long ago), and he pulls against them on a regular basis, but, as I say, he's always been neutral about Nebraska and Penn State.

Maybe it's a regional thing. Dad respects Nebraska and Penn State and their accomplishments. But he was born and raised in the South, and he prefers to pull for a good Southern team any day. Once, when I was in high school, my family went to New Orleans during the Christmas break, and we attended the Sugar Bowl football game. Penn State was playing Alabama, and my father pulled for Alabama. It was a Southern team, and, even though my father was opposed to the governor of Alabama, George Wallace, he didn't hold that against the football team.

Anyway, when we spoke yesterday, he still wasn't speaking about pulling for either team today — but he said he had decided which one he would pull against. Penn State, of course.

I understand his anger and frustration, and there probably were millions of football fans who watched the game and pulled for Nebraska because of what happened at Penn State. (Those who did surely were pleased with the outcome.)

But that wasn't really fair.

Joe Paterno deserves to be the target of people's anger. He is no longer the coach. But he isn't the only guilty party.

The headline writer in me kind of wishes that the perpetrator of the child abuse, retired assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, had been a basketball coach — because the evidence of his guilt is so great that the case against him appears to be a slam dunk for the prosecution.

He, too, is no longer on the Penn State coaching staff.

But pulling for the team to lose, it seems to me, amounts to punishing the team and the students — and that is guilt by association.

The incident that led to the unraveling of the Penn State coverup took place nearly a decade ago when the victim was 10 years old. Most of the players who took the field today are the victim's contemporaries. Any one of them could have been — and, when all the details are known, it may be revealed that some were — assaulted around the same time.

It may have been blind luck if some or all of them were spared.

If we do not blame the victim — and I have heard no one who has — it is not fair for us to blame his teammates, either (that is, if he became a member of Penn State's football team).

Or his classmates, for that matter. There are roughly 45,000 students on Penn State's flagship campus. At a major university like that, which recruits athletes from across the country, the likelihood that any of your high school classmates would also be your teammates in college is probably very small — but there are bound to be some of your high school classmates in the general university population.

I grew up in Arkansas, in a town that was more than a bump in the road — but it wasn't a city, either. My graduating class set a school record — which is bound to have been eclipsed, probably on more than one occasion, since then — with slightly more than 300 graduates.

I went to college at the University of Arkansas, the largest campus in the state, and its enrollment at the time was about one–third of Penn State's on–campus enrollment today. I encountered at least one–tenth of my high school classmates there, either in class or in the campus bookstore — or at a Razorback football game.

I even knew some of the people who played in the band at the football games — so I know it is more than possible that the young man has run into people from his hometown if he is part of the Penn State student body.

Whether that young man is now a student at Penn State or not, though, his contemporaries there held a candlelight vigil last night for him and the other victims.

Well, they did it for themselves, too. There can be no doubt that, after the week they have endured, the students desired closure — and a return to semi–normalcy. Some also probably wanted to relieve any feelings of guilt they may have.

But I think they also wanted to express their solidarity with the victims in some way.

They weren't to blame for what happened — or what was done to cover it up. They should not be made the scapegoats.

Role Models

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Everyone has an opinion on the tragedy at Penn State.

I've been trying to avoid jumping in because, frankly, the pool seems pretty crowded.

But, when you get past the posturing and the judging, it still comes down to one thing, even though that one thing often seems to get lost.

Children were victimized by adults — in the original assault and in the effort to cover it up.

They are the victims — not Joe Paterno, not Jerry Sandusky, not Graham Spanier, not anyone in Penn State's administration — although, in true football fashion, there's been plenty of misdirection.

And even some who have defended the actions — or inactions, if you prefer — of the adults.

I have known about this matter for only a few days, and my conscience won't permit me to remain silent any longer.

But silence has been the problem at Penn State, as it has been in other organizations, for a long time.

In fact, until Penn State dismissed Paterno for not doing anywhere near enough after he became aware of his assistant's crimes, it seemed that the university would do as others have done — and conclude that protecting the institution is more important than justice for children.

Our society talks a good game when it comes to protecting children — but it is rare when a mafia mentality of circling the wagons and protecting one's own, even when one's own is clearly guilty, does not take over, and the code of silence descends on all.

In schools. In churches. In athletic locker rooms.

The really heinous part of this is the betrayal of the faith that children place in authority figures — like parents, coaches, pastors and teachers. Children don't always outgrow that absolute allegiance, either. Some adults continue to revere the authority figures from their childhoods long after those authority figures are revealed to be less than superheroes.

(My understanding is that the assistant who witnessed the assault waited a day before taking it to Paterno. He had to consult with his real father first.)

Those relationships have lives of their own, and so do violations of that trust. They live on, influencing others in due course. Whether one prays or not, the victims deserve whatever support we can give them. Most, if not all, will struggle with this for years.

Paterno, in an attempt to appear gracious after his dismissal, urged everyone to pray for the victims, and, on the surface, that does seem to be generous and compassionate.

But "JoePa," the father figure for countless young men, was not being selfless. He was being selfish.

It was face–saving misdirection.

A football coach to the end, he tried to fake out everyone with a little play–action that would give the appearance that he still called the shots. He would leave when the season was over — which, presumably, would have included the Big Ten Championship Game (if the Nittany Lions qualified for it) and perhaps the Rose Bowl.

That would have been the proper way for college football's winningest coach to exit.

He was still trying to exercise control in a situation where he had no more. He lost his credibility when he abandoned his responsibility.

And it is to the credit of Penn State's trustees that they were not faked out.

I have heard it argued by some that it is not always easy to know what to do, that Paterno may have believed he did what was expected of him, and I will concede that point. But JoePa was obliged to do more than the minimum. He occupied a special place in the state of Pennsylvania, not just Penn State.

In most places, a coach does not have more power than the school president, but coaches like Paterno do. With such authority comes an obligation to go beyond the very least that you can do. There may have been acceptable reasons for his actions — and, more significantly, his inactions — but that does not excuse the fact that, when he was told that a member of his staff had assaulted a child, he was obligated to do more than pass the buck, and he did not.

Maybe there was a time when he understood the special role he played in molding the lives that were placed in his care — perhaps, early in his tenure at Penn State, when he watched Woody Hayes strolling the Ohio State sidelines in three encounters in the 1970s.

I thought of Hayes when all this surfaced about Penn State. Hayes was another role model from an earlier era whose career came to an abrupt end under less than ideal circumstances — when he punched an opposing player whose interception secured a bowl game victory for his team.

Everyone always knew that Hayes was a volatile drill sergeant kind of guy, a human volcano, barking out orders and demanding that his players give every ounce of energy to the cause. His bark may have been worse than his bite, but nobody wanted to hear his bark.

Even so, Hayes was considered the kind of man that young men could look up to, and countless fathers wanted their sons to play football for him.

That changed in the blink of an eye.

A role model is expected to do more than talk the talk. He is expected to walk the walk, too.

I guess I first thought of Hayes' case in relation to Paterno's when I heard people say — as I have been saying for years — that Paterno should have retired a long time ago. I was reminded of something I read when Hayes was dismissed.

"People keep saying that Woody Hayes is a great football coach who overstayed his time," wrote the great Red Smith in 1979. "This implies that there was a time when slugging a member of the opposing team was proper coachly deportment."

Or that there was a time when it was OK for a coach to pass the buck when his assistant — who was, for a time, regarded by many as his hand–picked successor — sexually assaulted a child in the locker room.

JoePa Makes History

You wouldn't think that there would be anything left for Joe Paterno to accomplish at Penn State.

He's been coaching the Nittany Lions since 1966. Paterno has said that, when he told his father of his occupational decision, his father replied, "For God's sake, what did you go to college for?"

It was a fair question, I suppose, given that Paterno was taking over a program that had been mediocre at best in the previous years.

He began his tenure with a victory over Maryland on Sept. 17, 1966. That win — or the one over Boston College a few weeks later — probably qualified as his signature win in that first season at the helm. All the teams the Nittany Lions faced who had winning records that year defeated Penn State.

The next year, though, after a 1–2 start, Paterno led the Nittany Lions to seven straight wins and a Liberty Bowl date with Florida State (the teams fought to a 17–17 tie).

And the next two seasons were even better for Paterno and his teams. Their record was 22–0, which meant that, entering the 1970 season, they had won 27 of their last 28 games — and might have won all 28 if college football had allowed overtime in those days.

They also won a couple of Orange Bowls in the late 1960s, but they didn't win a national championship.

For a long time, the national title seemed a prize Paterno would never grab. He instructed many great players. He had many great teams. He coached against (and often defeated) the best of his contemporaries — Bear Bryant, Darrell Royal, Woody Hayes, Barry Switzer, Tom Osborne — but he always seemed to come up just short when the national title was on the line.

That changed in 1982, and he won another national crown in 1986.

He's won more bowl games than any other coach in the history of college football.

And now, he's won more games — period.

Yesterday's 10–7 triumph over Illinois was sloppy, but, as Stewart Mandel points out in Sports Illustrated, it was "exactly the type of game Paterno enjoys most" — one in which defense and rushing play prominent roles.

So it was appropriate for the occasion. It was Paterno's 409th Division I victory.

The milestone, in which Paterno passed Eddie Robinson of Grambling, is largely symbolic, Mandel writes, which is a fair conclusion. The Illini appear to have peaked, having been in the rankings a few weeks ago but they've stumbled lately.

Penn State has sometimes been criticized for not playing the toughest of schedules, but Robinson rarely, if ever, faced the kind of programs that Paterno has faced, particularly since Penn State joined the Big Ten nearly two decades ago.

It did seem more important when he surprassed Bryant's victory total a decade ago. Bryant, after all, built his record by beating the likes of LSU and Auburn and Georgia every year — not Rutgers and Syracuse and Temple.

Nevertheless, as Mandel said, Paterno deserves our recognition and praise. "In a sport filled with misguided, misbehaved or flat–out devious individuals, JoePa remains our moral compass, as he has for more than five decades."

Seems Like Old Times

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This weekend brings a revival of some great rivalries in college football.

Notre Dame and Michigan will face each other this weekend in the latest chapter of a rivalry that goes back to the 19th century, and the Southeastern Conference will be showcasing a couple of important clashes, too.

But Penn State and Alabama has to be the most magical matchup of the weekend.

For some folks, the cup is half empty. Steve Greenberg of The Sporting News complains that it is the only game between two ranked teams, but, after all, that is hardly by design. Schedules are made months, if not years, ahead of time.

What's more, it wouldn't be the only game between ranked teams if not for the fickle nature of early poll voting. Defending national champion Auburn won its opener — unimpressively — and fell from the rankings.

Two games between ranked opponents would be pretty good for this stage of the season — when most conference schedules have not yet begun and most contenders are content to play clearly inferior foes as a way to pad their individual statistics.

Penn State–Alabama, coming one week after the LSU–Oregon and Boise State–Georgia tilts, isn't too shabby for the second weekend in September.

Alabama coach Lou Saban has been respectful of the Nittany Lions. He is 3–3 against Penn State and says he expects a challenge when the Crimson Tide takes the field in Happy Valley.

It may be the only Top 25 matchup this week, but it's not a bad one. Enjoy.

Idle: #1 Oklahoma, #4 Boise State, #7 Texas A&M, #20 Baylor.

Thursday

• Arizona at #9 Oklahoma State, 7 p.m. (Central) on ESPN: This was the matchup that concluded both teams' seasons last year — a date in the Alamo Bowl, which Oklahoma State won, 36–10.
  
  Two meetings in the same calendar year is a clear trend in this series. Before that Alamo Bowl, I think you have to go back to FDR's administration to find the last time they met on the gridiron.
  
  But little attention is being paid to it in Stillwater, Okla., where OSU coach Mike Gundy has been emphasizing the Cowboys' long–term future in the Big 12 and the short–term outlook for quarterback Brandon Weeden, who threw three interceptions against Louisiana–Lafayette last week — two of which were returned for touchdowns.
  
  Gundy thinks Weeden will be just fine — and I'm inclined to agree. I expect Oklahoma State to win the game.

Friday

• #21 Missouri at Arizona State, 9:30 p.m. (Central) on ESPN: It's been more than 20 years since Missouri and Arizona State played a football game.
  
  They met in a two–year, home–and–away series in 1989 and 1990, with each team winning its home game. Neither team was very good in those days.
  
  They're better now, and I think the game will be better than many people think it will. I'll take Missouri — but by a touchdown or less.

Saturday

• Northwestern State at #2 LSU: This won't be the first time the teams have faced each other, but it might as well be. They last met in 1942; LSU won, 40–0.
  
  Before that, they met in 1937. LSU won that one, too, 52–0. Before that, they played in 1926. LSU won that one as well, 47–0. LSU also won in 1925 (27–0), 1924 (40–0), 1923 (40–0), 1922 (13–0), 1921 (78–0) and 1920 (34–0). LSU also won in 1911 (46–0).
  
  Like the game this Saturday, all those other games were played in Baton Rouge. And I am certain that, like all those other times, LSU will win. The only question is, will Northwestern State finally score?


• #3 Alabama at #23 Penn State, 2:30 p.m. (Central) on ABC: It's funny how things change over the years.
  
  When I was growing up, Alabama–Penn State was a marquee matchup: the Bear vs. JoePa, both teams in the Top 10 if not the Top 5, probably a Heisman candidate or two.
  
  It's still a big–name game, but it has lost some of its luster. When I was growing up, for example, you never saw those two teams on the same field unless they were playing in a bowl game (and those bowl dates were pretty rare).
  
  A couple of years before Bear Bryant retired (and then died), Alabama and Penn State started playing each other during the regular season, and they continued to do so until 1990 — but they didn't meet again until last season, when Penn State visited the defending national champion Crimson Tide and got walloped, 24–3.
  
  I think both teams are overrated, but Alabama deserves to be in the Top 10. I'm not sure Penn State belongs in the Top 25. And I'll pick Alabama to win.


• Charleston Southern at #5 Florida State, 5 p.m. (Central) on ESPN3.com: I don't think these schools have a history.
  
  But does it matter? I expect Florida State to win handily.


• #6 Stanford at Duke, 2:30 p.m. (Central) on ESPNU: It's been nearly 40 years since Duke hosted Stanford in a football game.
  
  The schools met in 1971 and 1972, just after the only Heisman Trophy winner in Stanford history (quarterback Jim Plunkett) made his professional debut. Today, Stanford has what may be its second Heisman–winning quarterback in Andrew Luck.
  
  Could that be a lucky sign for Stanford? Could be. I'll take Stanford.


• Oregon State at #8 Wisconsin: Oregon State has played some quality nonconference opposition in recent years — TCU and Boise State last year, Cincinnati and BYU in 2009, Utah in 2008, not to mention Oregon and Southern Cal darn near every year.
  
  And Oregon State usually gives as good as it gets — but rarely do the Beavers win those games. And, frankly, I think the Badgers have more than they need to win this one — including their typically boisterous home crowd. I'll take Wisconsin.


• Fresno State at #10 Nebraska, 6 p.m. (Central) on Big Ten Network: Fresno State tends to field a competitive team, but let's be candid here.
  
  When you're playing at Nebraska, you're playing on a big–time stage, and Fresno doesn't usually win those. Sometimes, FSU comes close, but I don't expect that to happen this time. I'll go with Nebraska.


• #11 Virginia Tech at East Carolina, 2:30 p.m. (Central) on FSN: This will be the fifth straight year these schools have played each other in football — and East Carolina did win one, in 2008 when they opened the season in Charlotte, N.C.
  
  But Virginia Tech has won the last two meetings and I suspect the Hokies will win this one, too.


• #12 South Carolina at Georgia, 3:30 p.m. (Central) on ESPN: South Carolina is only 6–13 against Georgia since joining the Southeastern Conference in 1992.
  
  But, after advancing to their first SEC Championship game last season, the Gamecocks (who beat Georgia at home last year) appear to be on the brink of their second win at Georgia in the last 10 years.
  
  I believe South Carolina will win the game — but narrowly.


• Nevada at #13 Oregon, 2:30 p.m. (Central) on FX: These schools have never been regular opponents, but this meeting will end an eight–year drought.
  
  Their last meeting was on Sept. 6, 2003, on Oregon's turf, the same place where they will play this Saturday. Oregon won that one, by the way, 31–23. Prior to that, the schools opened the 2000 season (again, on Oregon's field), and the Ducks prevailed that time, too, 36–7.
  
  They met the year before that, in 1999, and Oregon recorded what is probably the most lopsided win in the series' history — 72–10.
  
  I think Oregon will win this time, too, but not by 62 points — probably more like 10.


• New Mexico at #14 Arkansas, 6 p.m. (Central) on ESPNU: These teams haven't faced each other since 1987, when Arkansas beat a winless New Mexico squad in Little Rock, the same place they will meet on Saturday.
  
  They played in Little Rock in 1983 — and Arkansas won that one, too.
  
  And, as nearly as I can tell, that's been it for the series. Not much to go on.
  
  But here is something that is worth remembering: Arkansas doesn't play as many games in Little Rock as it did when I was growing up, but, with the exception of a couple of losses to LSU, Arkansas hasn't lost in Little Rock since 1997, and it hasn't lost a nonconference game there since 1993.
  
  Arkansas should win by a wide margin.


• Toledo at #15 Ohio State, 11 a.m. (Central) on Big Ten Network: These schools have met twice before — in 1998 and 2009 — and Toledo has yet to score on the Buckeyes.
  
  I expect Ohio State to win by at least three touchdowns — and I haven't a clue whether Toledo will finally score.


• #16 Mississippi State at Auburn, 11:21 a.m. (Central) on SEC Network: There have been times in the history of this series when Mississippi State has held the upper hand, but not in the first decade of the 21st century.
  
  Auburn won nine of the last 10 meetings (the exception was 2007), but many people think that period of dominance may be about to end. MSU has been on the rise, and observers felt all along that Auburn would drop off after losing Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton to the NFL — but I don't think anyone expected Utah State to take Auburn to the wire in the opener.
  
  That suggests to me that Auburn's 16–game winning streak is in jeopardy. The Tigers' stay in the Top 25 has already ended, and I'll take Mississippi State to prevail.


• Florida Atlantic at #17 Michigan State: This will be the third time these teams have met since 2008.
  
  Michigan State won the first two games, and I fully expect the Spartans to win this time, by four or five touchdowns.


• UAB at #18 Florida, 6 p.m. (Central) on FSSouth: On Aug. 31, 2002, UAB and Florida met in the season opener, and Florida roared to a 51–3 victory.
  
  Florida won a couple of national titles and a Heisman Trophy in the years that followed. UAB had one winning season.
  
  I expect Florida to win.


• Norfolk State at #19 West Virginia, noon (Central) on Big East Network: There really isn't much to say about this game — except that something is wrong if West Virginia doesn't beat Norfolk State by about five touchdowns.


• Ball State at #22 South Florida, 6 p.m. (Central) on Big East Network: Ball State is hardly a football powerhouse, having won more games than it lost only five times in the last 20 years.
  
  South Florida, however, may well be an emerging powerhouse.
  
  Granted, beating Notre Dame doesn't necessarily qualify as the ultimate test for a program — but it was when Lou Holtz, who happens to be the father of South Florida's coach, was running the show in South Bend.
  
  Anyway, while Notre Dame probably does not deserve to be in the rankings, South Florida probably does — and I expect South Florida to defeat Ball State by about 20 points.


• Brigham Young at #24 Texas, 7 p.m. (Central) on ESPN2: These schools haven't faced each other since the waning days of the Reagan administration.
  
  BYU was considered something of a powerhouse in those days; Texas, not so much. Anyway, BYU beat UT in back–back seasons in 1987 and 1988.
  
  Things are a bit different now. Texas comes into this game with a Top 25 ranking and BYU comes into it unranked so I suppose the roles have been reversed — but BYU got some support in the latest poll and could catapult into the rankings by knocking off the Longhorns.
  
  I think that is possible because I believe that Texas, which lost seven of its last nine games in 2010, is overrated — and BYU is the kind of team that could expose the Longhorns for what they are. You can't really learn anything from a Texas squad that opened the season with a home win over Rice.
  
  This week's game is a much greater test, and I think Brigham Young will pass it.


• #25 TCU at Air Force, 2:30 p.m. (Central) on Versus: TCU has won five of six games with Air Force since they became conference rivals in 2005.
  
  And TCU, which was 36–3 from 2008 to 2010, is smarting from its loss to Baylor last week.
  
  As I have mentioned here before, neither school was very strong when I was growing up. But times have changed, and TCU hasn't lost back–to–back games since September 2007.
  
  TCU has struggled in its games at Air Force. The Frogs won a 20–17 battle in 2009 and lost by the same score in 2007. I expect another close one, but I'll pick TCU to prevail.

Last week: 21–2

Season: 21–2

A New Year's Eve Memory

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A week ago, I wrote about the trips my family used to take to South Padre Island, Texas, during the Christmas break when I was a child.

We stopped doing that after about three Christmases and started making trips to New Orleans instead. We did that for two consecutive years, capping our visits by attending the Sugar Bowl — and then hitting the road for our home in Conway, Ark., the next day.

My father was a professor at a small Methodist college, which then operated on a trimester schedule, and the winter term always began the first weekday after New Year's Day.

In those days, the Sugar Bowl was played on New Year's Eve instead of New Year's Day, so we spent those New Year's Days on the road.

One return trip was fairly uneventful. The other, if memory serves, was cold and wet — and we had a rather exciting half hour or so just south of Little Rock when we had a flat tire and my father had to change it in a cold drizzle.

Going to the Sugar Bowl was never the goal of our trips. There were other things that attracted us. My mother always loved visiting the French Quarter, hearing the live music at night, consuming the chicory coffee and beignets in the mornings. The whole family did, really. And we all loved Cajun food, and my father liked to do some deep–sea fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. Sometimes my brother and I went with him.

We went to two Sugar Bowls in those years, and — to use an old Southern expression — we never had a dog in those hunts.

But, 35 years ago last night, we got to see two legendary coaches face each other.

Playing the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Eve was kind of a brief experiment, I guess. Perhaps it was intended to draw more attention to the Sugar Bowl instead of forcing it to compete for the TV audience with the traditional New Year's bowl games. But that Sugar Bowl had Bear Bryant on one sideline and Joe Paterno on the other.

Did that game need any help attracting an audience?

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The first 38 Sugar Bowls were played on either January 1 or January 2, then the next four were played on New Year's Eve — and nearly all the Sugar Bowls played since the one that was played on New Year's Eve 1975 have been played in January.

But that New Year's Eve 35 years ago was the first time a Sugar Bowl was played in the Louisiana Superdome. Before that, all the Sugar Bowls were played in Tulane Stadium, which also hosted three Super Bowls before it was demolished.

I'm sure it wasn't the first game ever played in the Superdome, but it had only been open for about five monhs. It was still so new you could practically smell the fresh paint.

On the day of the game, we spent the afternoon strolling through the French Quarter. At one point, I saw a homemade banner hanging from a second–floor balcony. The banner showed an Asian girl and the words "Go, Arabama!"

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When we arrived at the Superdome that evening, there was already a substantial crowd there.

My memory is that there were far more Alabama fans on hand than Penn State fans. I suppose that made sense. The Alabama campus is much closer to New Orleans than Penn State's. But if you were going to school in Pennsylvania, wouldn't you jump at the chance to spend New Year's Eve in New Orleans?

It seemed to me then — and it seems to me now — that there should have been a lot more Penn State fans at the game.

Almost everyone I remember seeing was wearing Alabama red. I heard several people — some of whom appeared to be complete strangers — spontaneously greet each other with "Roll, Tide!" Throw in a "yo" or two, and it could have been the 1975 version of gangsta speak.

We got some drinks and began making our way up the stairs. Our seats were near the top of the building. I'm not sure which yard line we were on — at that elevation, I'm not sure it mattered. You could barely see the players from that distance.

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I guess Alabama was the sentimental favorite. The Crimson Tide certainly seemed to have the crowd on their side, but they didn't really need it. Fourth–ranked Alabama's defense stymied 10th–ranked Penn State, holding the Nittany Lions to two field goals and just over 200 yards in total offense.

Penn State never led in the game, and Alabama took the lead for good in the third quarter.

After that, Alabama's defense merely had to do what Bear Bryant's defenses always did so well — smother opposing offenses.

My memory is that it was fairly jovial where we were sitting. We were sitting in a section of Alabama fans, and they frequently found things to celebrate en route to the Tide's 13–6 victory. I'm sure they took their celebration into the French Quarter, where they rang in the new year an hour or so later.

My family went back to our campsite outside New Orleans and went to bed. We had our drive home ahead of us the next day.

And that is what happened that night in the Superdome 35 years ago.

Evaluating the BCS Bowls

In the BCS' present arrangement, four of the "traditional" bowl games and a national championship game are labeled "BCS bowls" — in what passes for a playoff series — although only the top two teams in the BCS rankings at the end of the season compete for the national title.

This season, the finalists are Florida and Oklahoma. They will face each other in Miami on Jan. 8.

I broke down that matchup (to a degree) the other day and I'll have more to say about it in the coming weeks.

Today, I would like to evaluate the other four games.

Fiesta Bowl
Monday, Jan. 5
8 p.m. (EST), FOX

Texas (11-1, #3 in BCS) vs. Ohio State (10-2, #10 in BCS) — Some pro-Texas theorists have been coming up with wildly improbable scenarios that will bend the time/space continuum until it snaps like a dry twig.

In reality, though, the best Texas can hope for is to beat Ohio State and finish the season second behind either Florida or Oklahoma.

The Buckeyes and the Longhorns should be fairly familiar foes. They faced each other in high-profile nonconference games in 2005 and 2006. Texas won the first meeting, 25-22, and Ohio State won the second, 24-7.

Here's how they compare offensively:

• Texas is 11th in the nation in passing yards per game. Ohio State ranks 104th.


• But Ohio State, behind the running of Chris Wells, has the statistical edge in rushing yards. The Buckeyes are 28th. The Longhorns are 34th.


• In points per game, there's no comparison. Texas is fifth in the nation, averaging 43.9 points per game. Ohio State is 45th, averaging 28.2 points per game.

Well, we knew Texas was putting up some good numbers on offense.

On the defensive side of the ball,

• Both teams have done a pretty good job of keeping opponents from scoring, but Ohio State has the advantage. The Buckeyes are seventh in the country, giving up an average of 13.1 points per game. The Longhorns are 21st in the nation, allowing 18.6 points per game.


• The Texas defense is ranked second in the nation in rushing defense, which is bad news for the Ohio State offense. The Buckeyes' run defense is pretty good, too, with a national ranking of 20th.


• Ohio State's pass defense (with Kurt Coleman, tied for 35th in the country in interceptions) is ranked sixth in the nation, which is bad news for the Texas offense and Colt McCoy. Texas' pass defense is 110th in the country — which is comparable to the OSU pass offense.


• Total defense belongs to Ohio State. The Buckeyes are ranked eighth in the country. The Longhorns are ranked 50th.

If Texas plays like it did when it still had hope of playing in the Big 12 title game, I think the Longhorns can handle the Buckeyes.

But, if Texas can't shake off the disappointment of not being in the national championship game, I think Ohio State can win the game.

The schools played no common opponents.

Orange Bowl
Thursday, Jan. 1
8 p.m. (EST), FOX

Cincinnati (11-2, #12 in BCS) vs. Virginia Tech (9-4, #19 in BCS) — The last time the schools met was two years ago, in September 2006. Virginia Tech won, 29-13.

From a TV ratings perspective, the game has very little to recommend it — certainly not when compared to the Florida-Oklahoma blockbuster that will be played in Miami a week later. But it will have the evening time slot to itself. The Orange Bowl will be the only game being played on New Year's Night.

How do they match up?

• Cincinnati is ranked 24th in the country in passing yardage (with Tony Pike, who is 29th in the nation in passing efficiency). Virginia Tech is 112th.


• But Tech has the edge in rushing yardage. Tech ranks 42nd. Cincinnati is 94th.


• Neither team has been lighting up the scoreboard. Cincinnati is 51st in points per game. Tech is 89th.

Something tells me not to expect a high-scoring affair, although you never know. Cincinnati's Mardy Gilyard is 18th in the nation in all-purpose yardage.

On defense,

• Virginia Tech is 13th in the nation in points allowed per game. Cincinnati isn't bad, ranked 27th.


• Both teams enjoyed success stopping the run this season. Cincinnati ranks 13th in run defense. Virginia Tech ranks 19th.


• Virginia Tech is 15th in the nation in defending against the pass, thanks in part to Victor Harris, who tied for fifth in the nation in interceptions. Cincinnati is 68th.


• Virginia Tech is seventh in the nation in total defense. Cincinnati is 26th.

Virginia Tech's fate may depend upon how well the pass defense can stop Pike.

The schools played no common opponents this year, although one of Cincinnati's losses was to Oklahoma in September.

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Michigan beat Stanford in the first Rose Bowl, 49-0.

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Rose Bowl
Thursday, Jan. 1
5 p.m. (EST), ABC

Penn State (11-1, #8 in BCS) vs. USC (11-1, #5 in BCS) — This will be the second time that USC and Penn State have faced each other in the Rose Bowl. The first time they played was on Jan. 1, 1923, in the official dedication of the Rose Bowl stadium.

The two schools took on two common opponents during the 2008 regular season. One was Oregon State. Penn State won its game with OSU easily, 45-14, in early September, but three weeks later, OSU beat USC, 27-21.

The other common opponent was a high-profile foe that both Penn State and USC defeated — Ohio State. USC beat the Buckeyes, 35-3, and Penn State won, 13-6.

On offense,

• USC ranks 31st in in passing yardage (with Mark Sanchez ranked 13th in passing efficiency). Penn State ranks 35th (with Daryll Clark ranked 23rd in passing efficiency).


• It's even closer in rushing yardage. Penn State ranks 15th (led by Evan Royster, who rates 25th in rushing). USC ranks 17th.


• The teams have put up comparable numbers when it comes to scoring — reflecting, I suppose, how close they were to each other in rushing and passing. Penn State is 11th in points per game. USC is 14th.

With two teams that rank in the top 15 in points per game, I'd expect to see a lot of scoring in Pasadena.

Who has the edge in defense?

Well, numerically, the edge belongs to USC, the #1 team in the nation in many defensive categories. But Penn State has had a pretty solid year in defense as well.

• USC was the stingiest team in the nation when it came to giving up points. The Trojans allowed only 7.8 points per game. But Penn State was fourth in the nation, allowing only 12.4 points per game.


• USC has a narrow edge in rushing defense. The Trojans are ranked fifth. The Nittany Lions are ranked eighth.


• Perhaps the most distinct defensive advantage belongs to USC in the category of pass defense. USC ranks first in the nation while Penn State is 12th.


• And USC is first in the nation in total defense. Penn State is fifth.

Both conferences are considered lacking when compared to the Big 12 and the Southeastern conferences, but these two teams seem to be well matched and could provide the most competitive of the major bowls.

Sugar Bowl
Friday, Jan. 2
8 p.m. (EST), FOX

Alabama (12-1, #4 in BCS) vs. Utah (12-0, #6 in BCS) — If you're not a fan of the passing game, this might be the game for you.

• In passing offense, Utah ranks 41st (even so, Brian Johnson ranks 18th in passing efficiency). Alabama ranks 96th.


• In rushing offense, Alabama is 23rd (Glen Coffee is 21st in the country in rushing). Utah is 41st.


• In points per game, Utah is 15th. Alabama is 30th.

On defense, both teams rank pretty highly, although I think that probably means more in Alabama's case than Utah's.

The Southeastern Conference is simply superior to the Mountain West.

• In points allowed per game, Alabama is sixth. Utah is 12th.


• In rushing defense, Alabama is fourth in the nation. Utah is 14th.


• In pass defense, Alabama is 21st (Rashad Johnson shares 31st in interceptions). Utah is 40th (but Sean Smith is tied for 21st in interceptions).


• And in total defense, Alabama is third. Utah is 18th.

The teams faced no common opponents this season.

Who Will Be Playing in Miami?

Saturday’s one-point loss to Iowa has doomed Penn State’s hopes for a national title, says Sam Ross Jr. in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Practically the same thing happened to Penn State nine years ago, he writes. Then ranked second in the nation, the Nittany Lions lost to Minnesota by the same 24-23 score.

"The 1999 Penn State team couldn't recover," Ross says, "losing back-to-back games to Michigan and Michigan State."

Stewart Mandel of Sports Illustrated writes that Penn State’s loss was a good thing for the Big Ten, in the aftermath of a couple of poor performances by Ohio State in the last two national championship games.

"The majority of the country did not want to see Penn State in the BCS title game," Mandel writes. Saturday’s loss, he says, means "the issue is moot."

Gennaro Filice writes, in his FanNation blog, that Penn State’s "national title hopes are officially cooked."

Filice admits that Penn State can still win the Big Ten title. And he concedes that it’s possible that no team from a BCS conference will finish the season unbeaten.

However, "due to the Big Ten's perceived inferiority this season, Penn State's lone blemish has far more significance than a single notch in the loss column," he writes.

The loss to Iowa, Filice says, is a "knockout blow."

Is it?

Well, a lot of things can happen in college football.

A single loss by a single point doesn’t have to destroy a team’s chances of playing for the national title — although it’s usually best if it happens early in the season, when the team has a chance to make its case in several games, rather than late in the season, when there aren’t many opportunities left to repair the team’s image.

Lord knows, I'm no fan of the BCS. But it's the system that's in use and, at this stage, I think the die may be cast — that there may be only one berth in the national title game that Penn State has a theoretical — albeit remote — chance of grabbing.

If that’s the case, it’s going to be extremely difficult for Penn State to make up that much ground in less than a month.

Anyway,

• I believe one of the slots in the national championship game will go to the winner of the SEC Championship clash between Alabama and Florida in Atlanta on Dec. 6.
  
  The conference schedule hasn’t been played out yet, but both teams have clinched their division championships and will face off in December.
  
  Of course, a lot of things could happen to remove the spotlight from this game. Alabama (10-0) still has to play its in-state rival, Auburn, on Nov. 29. The Tigers are only 5-5 this year, but rivalries are different from ordinary games.
  
  Likewise, Florida (8-1) has to face its in-state rival, Florida State (7-2), the same day.
  
  And, this Saturday, Florida has to play its final regular-season conference game against South Carolina (7-3).
  
  But if Florida and Alabama can clear their last regular-season hurdles, I expect the winner of their game to play for the national championship in Miami in January.


• Logic tells me that the other team in the national championship picture will be the team that finishes atop the Big 12 South.
  
  Right now, that would figure to be 10-0 Texas Tech, which has a well-deserved week off next weekend after defeating previously unbeaten Texas last weekend and then following that with a win over once-beaten Oklahoma State on Saturday.
  
  The Red Raiders can’t relax too much, however, because, after beating the Longhorns and Cowboys at home in Lubbock, they have to travel to Norman, Okla., a week from Saturday to face Oklahoma.
  
  Some more bad news for Tech. Oklahoma also has the week off to prepare for the showdown.
  
  And what a showdown it should be!
  
  Texas Tech has a richly deserved reputation for scoring, but the Sooners have done a pretty fair job of putting points on the board, too. Oklahoma has been held to its season-low of 35 points twice — and the Sooners have scored more than 50 points six times.
  
  But the Sooners' defense has been prone to give up a lot of points at times.
  
  If Tech can beat OU, the Red Raiders should finish the regular season unbeaten — their final opponent is 3-7 Baylor on Nov. 29.
  
  But OU could cause problems. If the Sooners win, it’s possible that three teams — OU, Texas and Texas Tech — will finish the season tied atop the Big 12 South.
  
  For that to happen, Oklahoma would have to follow the win over Tech with a win at Oklahoma State on Nov. 29 — and the 8-2 Cowboys have been no pushovers this season. They should be rested and ready — all they have to do between now and the 29th is dispose of 5-5 Colorado.
  
  But, if it does happen, Mandel writes, the tiebreaker would be determined by which team has the highest BCS ranking.
  
  "The voters would decide who gets to play for the Big 12 championship," Mandel writes. "How the heck are they supposed to do that? Would they elevate the Sooners over a Texas team they lost to? Would non-conference wins be part of the decision?"
  
  If OSU knocks off OU, that would open the door for Tech and Texas to share the division title. If that happened, Tech would win the spot in the conference championship game, based on their head-to-head victory over the Longhorns.
  
  But, because they lost recently to OU, the Red Raiders would probably be out of the national title picture by that point. And, in an ironic twist, the Longhorns might be back in it.
  
  Clearly, it would be a whole lot easier on everyone if Tech just beats Oklahoma and goes on to play in the Big 12 championship game, probably against Missouri.
  
  Which raises another point. What happens if the Big 12 South champ stumbles in the conference championship game against Missouri?
  
  Mathematically, it’s conceivable that Missouri won’t emerge as the Big 12 North champion. The Tigers still have to face Kansas on Nov. 29. The Jayhawks trail the Tigers by a game in the standings, but they could overcome that by winning their head-to-head matchup.
  
  But, for Kansas to sneak in past Missouri, the Jayhawks would probably have to win their other remaining game, which is against Texas — and that doesn’t appear to be too likely for 6-4 KU.
  
  The other contender in the Big 12 North is Nebraska. The Cornhuskers could leapfrog the Tigers (who won their head-to-head match in early October) if they sweep Kansas State and Colorado.
  
  But that would require Missouri to lose to not only Kansas but also 2-8 Iowa State beforehand.
  
  So it’s unlikely but possible that Missouri won’t represent the Big 12 North in the conference title game.
  
  Still, you never know what’s going to happen in the Big 12 Championship game.
  
  Well, Jimmy Burch of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram seems to know what's going to happen.
  
  "If Tech continues to match the poise and precision it showed Saturday while dismantling No. 8 Oklahoma State 56-20 the Red Raiders will get [to the BCS title game]," he writes. "And deserve it."


• If the unexpected happens, and a legitimate national championship contender doesn’t emerge from the Big 12, it seems to me that the next most likely prospect for the slot against either Alabama or Florida would be Southern California.
  
  USC (8-1) has to face a couple of teams that are struggling to win enough games to qualify for a bowl bid — 5-5 Stanford and 5-4 Notre Dame — before wrapping up the regular season against crosstown rival UCLA (3-6).
  
  To me, it looks like a longshot for USC to get into the national title game, but if the Trojans sweep those last three games, they’ll have to wait and see what happens in the Big 12, like everyone else. USC plays in a conference that doesn’t determine its championship in a postseason title game.


• In the extremely unlikely event that Tech, Texas and Oklahoma all drop out of the running and USC loses to one of the apparent creampuffs remaining on its schedule, the latest BCS standings suggest that the next team in line would be 10-0 Utah.
  
  Utah has two regular-season games left — San Diego State (1-9) this weekend, and 9-1 Brigham Young the next. If BYU beats Utah, the Utes are out of the running.
  
  It’s hard for me to imagine the Utes playing Alabama or Florida for the national championship. If circumstances start to eliminate the teams at the head of the list, my guess is that the pollsters would elevate Penn State — and put the Nittany Lions in the championship game ahead of Utah.

Anyway, there’s clearly some drama remaining in this college football season.

I doubt that Penn State is on its way to Miami in January — but Pasadena isn't bad as alternate destinations go.