Where Do They Go From Here?

Sitting against a blowing blast of heat, Derrick Williams wanted to stay warm. And he didn't want to watch.

Standing like a wounded soldier at the front lines of windy, bitter Big Ten afternoon, Daryll Clark had to.

Two men who have been a vital part of Penn State's revitalized Spread HD offense, and an even bigger part of a national story that has brought college football fans to ailing Joe Paterno's doorstep.

One played well (Williams with 53 yards rushing and a score, 43 yards receiving and even 23 yards passing). One played poorly (Clark with just nine completions in 23 attempts, 86 yards passing and an interception that led to his long, slow walk to the front of the firing squad).

And in that moment, as sparsely-used Daniel Murphy trotted onto the stage for his chance at glory, Williams couldn't watch. Clark felt it was his obligation.

Two different decisions made with same emotion: agony. Derrick Williams came to Penn State with this exact scenario in mind. The No. 1 high-school player in the country took a leap of faith and committed to a Penn State program in disarray after three of four losing seasons for one reason.

To deliver Joe Paterno one last national championship.

And it was slipping away. He couldn't watch.

Darryl Clark was a Michael Robinson clone, patiently sitting behind much-maligned signal-caller Anthony Morelli and waiting for his turn. It finally came this season, and Clark made his opening statement to the nation in a scintillating performance against Oregon State (which ended up beating Southern California).

How could a concession speech come so quickly after "Hello, world." He had to watch.

Murphy made the kick. So where do the Nittany Lions go from here?

Scenario #1: Follow the footsteps of the superstar-laden 1999 squad that started the season 9-0 before one Minnesota Hail Mary and subsequent field goal started a three-game skid to end the regular season. That was a Penn State team led on defense by Brandon Short and LaVar Arrington, a team that dismantled Arizona 41-7, found a way to win at Miami and downed Ohio State. Yet, the air of invincibility left after the 24-23 loss to Minnesota (the exact same score as this past Saturday's loss at Iowa). The Nittany Lions lost to Michigan and at Michigan State before a month of mental rehab allowed them to take out their frustrations on Texas A&M in the Alamo Bowl. The nation's top-ranked team on the morning on November 6th ended up playing a bowl game during late December in San Antonio.

Scenario #2: The 2005 Nittany Lions started 6-0 with victories over upstarts South Florida and Cincinnati out of the Big Ten and a hard-fought, emotionally-taxing 17-10 home victory over Ohio State. A trip to sweep out the demons at the Big House ended it a horror sequel, as Chad Henne's pass to Mario Manningham as time expired gave Michigan a 27-25 victory. Yet, Michael Robinson wouldn't let the Lions fold. Penn State took out its frustrations in a 52-point thrashing of Illinois one week later and won each of its remaining regular-season contests by nine points of more before a wild 26-23 victory over Florida State in the Orange Bowl. One of the nation's top teams on the morning of October 15th ended up with a BCS bowl victory and a third-place finish in the final polls.

Joe Paterno was asked ad naseum which scenario he envisioned for the 2008 Nittany Lions, and his ambiguous response had one loud, clear point. We will see on the field this Saturday.

Good thing Indiana is on the other side.
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