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The Nittany Lions dropped their two biggest games of the season to Iowa and Ohio State, were outscored 30-0 combined in the second half, and both came at Beaver Stadium. But heading into the final weekend of the regular season, Penn State (9-2) has miraculously worked its way back into the mix for an at-large berth to a BCS bowl game.

Despite struggling early on Saturday against last place Indiana (before prevailing 31-20), the Lions leapfrogged five teams in the latest BCS standings and are now 14th. Ironically, all at-large candidates must be 14th or higher when the final BCS rankings are released Dec. 6 to be considered.

Penn State obviously has to beat Michigan State on Saturday – no sure thing, but the visiting Lions are a three-point favorite – in order to remain in contention. If that happens, however, they are not assured of anything. Conventional wisdom is that a Jan. 1st invite to the non-BCS Capital One Bowl in Orlando would be the worst-case scenario.

A whole lot of things will undoubtedly happen between now and Dec. 6, but we do know that Ohio State will represent the Big Ten at the Rose Bowl. If the conference gets a second BCS representative, it will probably be either PSU or Iowa (also 9-2).

The Hawkeyes are currently 13th in the BCS rankings, but that doesn’t mean that they would automatically get the nod over PSU should they win out. Even though Iowa won the head-to-head meeting, bowl officials care much more about how many potential fans will make the trip, and Penn State travels as well as anybody in the country. And the Lions have a draw that nobody else has: Joe Paterno, who has more wins that any major college football head coach.

But it isn’t that simple. The loser of the Florida (No. 1)-Alabama (No. 2) tilt in the SEC Championship Game will get one at-large spot. If both TCU (No. 4) and Boise State (No. 6) can stay undefeated, they will probably each get one.

That would leave just one available at-large berth, and there are other No. 2 teams from major conferences still in the running for consideration, including the loser of the Cincinnati (No. 5)-Pittsburgh (No. 9) clash in the Big East; and Oklahoma State (No. 12). And there is always a possibility that somebody currently ranked below the Lions could overtake them in the coming weeks. -- NEIL GEOGHEGAN.

The three major areas of concern heading into Penn State’s 2009 season – a rebuilt offensive line, revamped secondary and heavy graduation losses at wideout – all played a factor in the Nittany Lions’ 24-7 dud versus Ohio State last weekend.

But the biggest factor in the loss that knocked PSU out of the Rose Bowl hunt – special teams – wasn’t something that was even on the radar last summer. And, ironically, Penn State’s punt team was actually thought of as a strength, with returning punter, Jeremy Boone, who had all-conference ability.

Out of 120 football programs in the Football Bowl Subdivision, the Lions rank near the bottom in net punting and defending returns. A blocked punt against Iowa was returned for a touchdown, providing the winning points in the Hawkeyes’ 21-10 triumph at Beaver Stadium. There was also another blocked punt at Michigan. And then a week prior to the OSU showdown, Penn State special teams were penalized twice for not having 11 players on the field against Northwestern.

The situation got even worse on Nov. 7, when the Buckeyes’ Ray Small broke loose for punt returns of 45 and 41 yards, setting up two of Ohio State’s three TDs.

“You knew this was going to be a field position game,” said OSU head coach Jim Tressel. “No one was going to drive up and down the field – it just wasn’t going to happen.”

But the punting woes gave the Buckeyes a short field, and they capitalized. Boone punted 10 times in the game, and seven were returned for 130 yards. Ohio State punted eight times, and just one was returned for zero yards (and was actually muffed but recovered by Graham Zug). That was a 130-0 edge, which is a lot in a battle between two solid defenses.

“Whoever wins the field position battle usually has the upper hand,” said safety Drew Asterino. “And we just couldn’t get control of that.”

During the post-game press conference, head coach Joe Paterno was asked if he needed to take a look at the way his program is doing things with the special teams. It was a thinly veiled question about the way Paterno chooses to set up his coaching staff.

Of the nine current full-time assistants on his staff, the special teams duties are split up five ways, with defensive line coach, Larry Johnson, handling the punt coverage team.

“We’ve done it this way before,” Paterno said. “I don’t know. We’ll obviously take a look at it. But I don’t know whether it’s a matter of changing things, maybe with personnel.”

But what if the problem isn’t with the personnel? – NEIL GEOGHEGAN.

Another Saturday of college football, another miraculous late game comeback by an Iowa team aided, once again, by a few second half calls that somehow always seem to go the Hawkeyes way.

Granted, Iowa showed great resiliency in its 42-24 comeback against Indiana. But would they have even had a chance if not for another group of inept officials who took 14 Hoosier points off the scoreboard on obvious TD catches?

The worst – which was on-par with a few horrible calls a week earlier at Michigan State – was the diving reception by IU’s Terrance Turner. It was actually called correct on the field (I know, they must have gotten lucky) and then, amazingly, overturned by the replay official, who watched it numerous times, in slow motion, and wronged a right. What is it about “indisputable video evidence” that these guys just can’t seem to grasp?

It means that the fourth-ranked Hawkeyes are still in the Big Ten driver’s seat at 5-0 (9-0 overall). The winner of Saturday’s Penn State-Ohio State clash will stay close on Iowa’s heels at 5-1. But even if the No. 11 Nittany Lions (4-1, 8-1) win out, they probably won’t be able to overtake the Hawks because the 21-10 setback to Iowa on Sept. 26 in Happy Valley would break any potential tie.

It’s difficult, however, to imagine any scenario in which PSU wouldn’t get an at-large bid to a BCS bowl game if they finish the regular season 11-1. And it is possible -- if the Lions stub their toe once more -- they could still slip in to the BCS mix at 10-2, although that wouldn’t be advisable.

But this much is certain: Unless Iowa losses at Ohio State (very possible) and then also drops one of its two remaining home games against either Northwestern or Minnesota (doubtful, especially with the Hawkeyes monopoly on favorable treatment from the refs), there is nothing Penn State can do the rest of the way to earn another trip to the Rose Bowl. – NEIL GEOGHEGAN.

Penn State got robbed again last weekend in Michigan … by some highly questionable officiating. Sound familiar? But it’s probably not what you think.

The Nittany Lions blasted the Wolverines 35-10 on Saturday for its first win at Michigan Stadium since 1996. And at one point in the first half, there was yet another time clock incident (prompting PSU play-by-play man, Steve Jones, to scream: “Why is the clock stopped?” over and over and over). But that wasn’t the miscarriage of justice.

It happened 90 miles away in East Lansing, where a series of controversial fourth quarter calls all went Iowa’s way, contributing to the Hawkeye’s final-play 15-13 victory over Michigan State. Even though the Lions were not on the field, it was ultra important to Penn State because it may wind up preventing the Lions from earning a share of the Big Ten crown and/or another spot in the Rose Bowl.

Due to a 21-10 setback to Iowa in September, PSU (3-1, 7-1 overall) is a full game behind the Hawkeyes (4-0, 8-0) and needs some outside help to catch up. The Spartans were primed to provide that help, but then the refs intervened. The worst was a personal foul call on a hit that happens dozens of times in just about every college game and is rarely, if ever, penalized. Plus, the call came embarrassingly late, keeping a drive alive that led to a field goal, and a 6-6 tie.

“If you are calling that, there needs to be consistency,” complained Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio. “This is a tough game. It’s a violent game. We don’t want to hurt people, but it’s hard to tell a defensive player to stand there and let the offensive player run you over.”

The next controversial call was a clear fumble by the Hawkeyes that was never officially reviewed and resulted in another kick that made it 9-6. And the third was a holding call on a defensive back, who was engaged with an Iowa wideout (within five yards of the line of scrimmage). The call could have gone either way, but ended up wiping out a Michigan State interception, and a few plays later Iowa scored the game-winner as time expired.

If any one of those three calls goes the other way, the Hawkeyes almost certainly do not win the game, and Penn State is now tied for first place.

Instead, Iowa is now in total command. It’s only difficult remaining game is at Ohio State. And even if the Buckeyes win that one – and PSU takes care of business and wins out -- the Hawkeyes would hold the tiebreaker due to its head-to-head victory at Beaver Stadium.

Afterwards, even Iowa coach Kirk Ferenz said his team was “fortunate to win.” – NEIL GEOGHEGAN

The Penn State defense limited visiting Minnesota to its lowest output of total offense of the 2009 season during last weekend’s 20-0 shutout. But it’s doubtful anybody took more self satisfaction out of the contest, and the outcome, than the Nittany Lions’ revamped secondary.

With four new starters, the unit endured a lot of preseason questioning and doubts, but came through impressively against the Golden Gophers and superstar wideout Eric Decker. It was 20-0 and clearly mop-up time when Decker finally hauled in his only pass reception of the day early in the fourth quarter.

“We kept getting attacked all the time because nobody really knew about us,” said sophomore safety Drew Asterino. “We had never really played, so instead of just saying, ‘we haven’t seen them play,’ we kept hearing, ‘(the secondary) is the worst part of the defense.’

“That stuff fuels us.”

Playing with a chip on its collective shoulder, the secondary was rock solid against Minnesota – particularly senior cornerback A.J. Wallace, who shadowed Decker all over the field and came up huge in his first start of the season.

“It was great to see,” said PSU’s Jared Odrick. “As a defensive lineman, you really don’t notice those type of things until the end of the game. (After the game) you realize (Decker) was really taken out of the game.”

Despite going against Decker and strong-armed quarterback Adam Weber, the Lions secondary helped limit the Gophers to just 101 passing yards and another 37 on the ground. Afterwards, head coach Joe Paterno acknowledged that the coaching staff had challenged Wallace in his head-to-head matchup with Decker.

“I take great pride in being challenged,” Wallace said. “I had some big stuff on my plate and I was ready to eat.”

When asked if getting a shutout, and shutting down Decker, was extra satisfying, Asterino said: “A win is satisfying, and all of the other stuff is a plus.”
-- NEIL GEOGHEGAN

Is it possible that exactly half way through the 2009 season, we still don’t really have an accurate grasp of just what kind of a football team Penn State has?

Nittany Lions head coach Joe Paterno, and his son Jay, the PSU quarterbacks coach, seem to think so.

“I wish I could (assess where we are),” JoePa said after steamrolling Illinois State 52-3 on Saturday. “I don’t know. I think we’ve got to play a couple tough games coming up. Minnesota’s a good football team. We’ll have to see where we are when we play them.

“We’ve got six tough games now. We’ll take them one at a time and see where we are. We’re not anywhere near as good as we will have to be, but we are getting better. I think we are better football team today than we were three or four weeks ago.”

It’s mid-October. How can the jury still be out on the Lions? Well, the lineup of non-conference patsies revealed next to nothing, and five of the six games have taken place in the friendly confines of Beaver Stadium.

Penn State outscored Akron, Syracuse, Temple and Illinois State by a combined 142-23, and downed an Illinois squad that has been one of the nation’s biggest disappointments. But in the season’s only contest against a quality opponent, the Nittany Lions blew an early 10-point lead and fell to Iowa, 21-10. And even though the Hawkeyes are now ranked 11th, they were unranked when they beat PSU.

“We’ve still got to get in a tough fourth quarter game and win,” said Jay Paterno. “We haven’t done that yet. Part of it is because five of them we’ve been in control of the game. And the sixth game we didn’t win, we just did not compete in the fourth quarter like we should have.

“Right now, we have to get in a dog fight and come out and win it. And I think we will -- that’s coming.”

It opportunity will likely be on Saturday, when the Golden Gophers (4-2) provide the Homecoming opposition. Minnesota is a half-game ahead of Penn State in the Big Ten standings at 2-1, with wins over Northwestern and Purdue, and also has non-conference victories against Air Force and Syracuse. The Gophers are 2-0 in road games this season. – NEIL GEOGHEGAN.