The wall behind the JoePa statue has become a little cramped, and the 2010 season and beyond are left without a plaque displaying the season's results. We know 2010 was rough, but come on, that's just plain mean. Seriously, though, what happens from here with this Penn State monument?
Penn State students making the trip from State College to Philadelphia for Saturday's noon football clash against Temple at Lincoln Financial Field will have plenty of entertainment options around the city before and after the game.
In two days, our Nittany Lions will travel to Philly to take on the Temple Owls. Yes, we enter as only an eight-point favorite, and yes this Temple team is better than those that came before them (although that isn't saying much). But this is Temple. We have dominated them for seven decades now and I don't see that changing much on Saturday afternoon.
It's truly a remarkable contradiction, the Penn State football experience. While other Big Ten teams have embraced change, Penn State, for better or worse, is all about the basics; everything about this university's football team induces nostalgia. Except, that is, for the football atmosphere at Beaver Stadium. While Penn State has remained grounded in its roots on the gridiron, the gameday experience just outside it has lost its soul.
Penn State football is generally considered one of the most storied and honorable programs in college football. Led by the holy Joe Paterno, it has achieved massive success during his long tenure as head coach. The last few years, however, have been years that Penn State fans would rather forget. The program seems to be stuck in a funk of mediocrity that doesn’t even approach the stratosphere of expectations that PSU fans have for Paterno-led squads.
Matt McGloin may have been Penn State's most valuable player during the 2010 football season. But between the end of last season and now, he may have also become the most disliked amongst the fanbase.