Joe Paterno Deserves Coach of the Year Honors Despite Possible BCS Snub

Most people do not believe in destiny, and I was among them until this football season began to unfold. For many in Nittany Nation, this season was an enigma from the beginning: two unproven quarterbacks battling it out for the top spot on the depth chart, an ESPN story questioning our famous slogan “Success with Honor,” dismissals of key players, and a flurry of off the field incidents. With all of this going on, many folks doubted if this team could regroup and post eight or nine wins.  When a lot of friends and others asked me what I thought this team’s record would be this season, I looked each one of them in the eye and simply said, “12-0.” This Penn State team had way too much talent and a favorable enough schedule to win at least nine games, but the question marks are always the big three of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio State. I never quite understood how a Wisconsin team that Penn State throttled 38-7 last year was ranked ahead of us, after it ... (link)