Penn State « 33 Grams of Blog

Right now, there is a huge scandal going on at Penn State University. A former Defensive Coordinator, Jerry Sandusky, is being accused of sexually abusing young boys on campus during trips taken with a charity. This came out in 2002, when another Penn St coach witnessed Sandusky abusing a boy in a team shower. This coach brought this to Joe Paterno’s attention. Paterno then told the Athletic Director (who is now being charged with helping to cover it up). At this point, Sandusky was no longer employed by the university, but was allowed to use the facilities for his charity.

I have a few questions about how this allegedly went down. First, why did Joe Paterno go to the AD instead of the police? I know that he probably didn’t want this to get out and embarrass his school, but the safety of children is more important than saving your employer some bad publicity. Why couldn’t he tell both?

Secondly, if this occurred in 2002, why was there no investigation started until 2009 and no charges brought until now? I’m sure a lot of it has to do with the fact that victims of abuse don’t want to, or are scared to, come forward, but how did Paterno and that other coach not say anything? Sandusky was on the campus quite a bit during that time. How did they not look at him in 2003 and think to themselves, “Hey, shouldn’t he be in jail or on trial right now? What’s he still doing out? I bet nobody told the cops what’s going on. I should do something.”?

Finally, if Sandusky is found guilty, I think that the AD and another school administrator (both charged with perjury in this case) should share his sentence. They covered it up and let it continue to happen, so in my mind, they’re just as guilty as Sundusky is. Fry all three of them.

Last night the Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the 15th ranked Wisconsin Badgers 33-29 in Columbus. I’m not going to say this was the biggest upset in college football this season, but it’s probably the biggest upset in the Big Ten this season. When you consider how badly the Buckeyes offense has been playing, this was a huge shocker.

Ohio State’s defense held Wisconsin’s run game, which was averaging 231 yards per game, to 89 yards. The Badgers were still able to move the ball through the air, but with their rushing attack (which is what Wisconsin is known for) stalling, it threw them out of their rhythm.

Once again, the Buckeyes offense remained mostly on the ground. They ran the ball 58 times, while only throwing 12. Even rushing that many times, Ohio State averaged 4.6 yards per carry. When you can do that, you can control the clock and have a very good chance to win the game.

Ohio State’s next two games are against opponents with a combined 5-12 record. If they can play those games like they’ve played their last two, they’ll go into their final two games (at home against 8-1 Penn St, and at the Big House against 7-1 Michigan) with a 7-3 record with momentum on their side.

I know that, barring a miracle, the Buckeyes won’t be playing for the Big Ten Championship this year, but I still want them to win out. This is a team that is loaded with freshmen and if they can get into the winning mindset, they will be a very dangerous team for the next few years.