| Matt McGloin's honesty gets him a week off from the media. (US Presswire) |
Every Wednesday this season Penn State quarterback Matt McGloin has been available for a weekly teleconference with reporters. Every Wednesday except for now, that is. McGloin won't be talking to the media this week thanks to some comments he made following the Nebraska game.
There was a controversial call during Penn State's loss when officials ruled that tight end Matt Lehman fumbled at the goal line. Replays showed that it looked as if the ball had broken the plane of the goal line before Lehman fumbled, but even after reviewing the play, the original call was upheld.
And McGloin wasn't afraid to tell everyone why he thought the call wasn't changed.
"We're not going to get that call here," McGloin told reporters after the game. "We're not going to get that call ever, actually, against any team. It doesn't matter who the refs are. That's the way it is."
While he doesn't come out and say it directly, it's obvious that McGloin is intimating that Penn State won't be getting any calls due to the Sandusky child-abuse scandal that led to the school being punished by the NCAA.
Now, while I'm not so sure I buy McGloin's feelings that the scandal is affecting the way officials rule games, it's impossible to pretend that the Sandusky mess doesn't leave a cloud hanging over the program in the minds of some.
Particularly with the pollsters, as I couldn't help but wonder why Penn State had appeared on only one AP ballot all season after getting off to a 5-2 start that included blowouts of Illinois and Iowa on the road along with a win over a ranked Northwestern team. Meanwhile a 3-2 Michigan team had no problem cracking the Top 25 that week.
It's hard not to believe some voters weren't holding the Sandusky scandal against Penn State then.