While it may not be the best of topics to mark re-entry into the blogosphere, I'd like to briefly discuss Penn State football. The impetus is Slate.com's Darren Everson who writes that Penn State coach Joe Paterno should retire.

While I may agree with Everson that he will likely not find a better go-out-on-top moment, his reason -- that JoePa is on the brink of senility -- is disappointing in the least, pitiful at most.

Rather than question the mental acuity of football's Godfather, I would argue that success in college football is measured over the course of three and four years, not one. But for this season's remarkable and admirable success, Penn State's status has slipped dramatically, especially outside the Commonwealth. Another two or three year drought could be fatal to realistic hopes of national competition.

The reason is recruitment. Next year, Penn State recruiters will have the old Penn State cache with a new Penn State packaging. Recruiters working with fresh memories of this season's glory (coinciding with disappointing showings by Big 10 rivals Michigan, Michigan State, and Wisconsin) should have a heyday.

But, if Paterno and Penn State do not see the bigger picture, a coach whose era may have passed him by, this season's success will be a blip on the radar rather than a building storm.

I am not saying that a coach Paterno will necessarily fail next season or the season after that. I do, however, believe that the game continues to evolve -- or, more precisely, devolve -- and I do not sense the propensity to adapt change in the persona of Joe Paterno. I think he alludes to that struggle when he calls himself a "dinosaur." Or, maybe that's a commentary on his glasses.

Personally, I would prefer a return to the era of Paterno's brand of college football. It was an era of off-the-field discipline and team-centered efforts on the field of play. But college football has become a sport dominated by athletic boosters (scandals), equipment endorsements, egregious end-zone celebrations, and sexual assault charges. Faced with declarations of early eligibility for the NFL and players transferring to other schools, a coach like Paterno cannot turn back the clock alone. This struggle -- that of modernity versus tradition -- is what will ultimately trigger JoePa's retirement, not a bigoted comment as Everson suggests.

Others weigh in here and here.

UPDATE: PSU 14, FSU 13 at the half.

UPDATE #2: PSU 16, FSU 16 after OT (PSU kicker misses two short FG attempts)
- posted by C @ 5:46:00 PM