A DVD on the history of Penn State football is titled “Success With Honor.” And when head coach Joe Paterno took over the program in 1966, he termed his effort to meld athletics and academics a “Grand Experiment.”

For decades, Penn State football fans – encouraged by the coaching staff, current and former players and administrators in Happy Valley -- have been saying that Penn State is different from all the other football factories across the nation.

But with that kind of grandiose self opinion comes pressure to constantly rise to that level. And lately, the Nittany Lions sure seem to have just as much off the field problems as all of the other programs that don’t claim superiority.

Two key defensive players, Anthony Scirrotto and Chris Baker, each face felony charges stemming from an off-campus fight last spring, and four other players faced similar charges that were later dropped. On Friday, freshman running back Joe Suhey was cited for underage drinking, bringing the total to three players similarly charged in the last two months (Andrew Quarless and Willie Harriott are the others.).

And late last month, former PSU defensive end Lavon Chisley was found guilty of first- and third-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison. The evidence showed that the victim was stabbed 93 times. When asked about it recently, Paterno said: “I have no comment on that.”

But Chisley was recruited by Paterno, and spent nearly four years at Penn State before being booted off the team in 2005 due to academic problems. Trying to distance itself from Chisley at this point sure seems a bit hypocritical.

Many Penn State haters revel in each and every negative off-the-field problem that comes to light. But that is understandable in light of the holier-than-thou rhetoric that has been emanating from State College for a very long time. – NEIL GEOGHEGAN.