It was only one kick, three points, a mere chip shot. But oh how one upright-splitting field goal can have such an effect on a coach, a team, a conference.
An entire begging sport.
Daniel Murray’s 31-yard field goal Saturday evening at Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium had more impact than any Hawkeye fan who stormed the field could have imagined.
For one, it ruined Penn State’s perfect season.
The Nittany Lions’ 81-year-old coach may have trouble spelling “BCS,” but what a story this would have been. Joe Paterno – in what many believe is his 43rd and final season as PSU’s head coach – is no longer able to stand on the Penn State sidelines and gets driven around practice in a golf cart. But at 9-0, his Nittany Lions were staring a national championship berth square in the face. They merely had to beat Iowa on the road before returning to Happy Valley to face a pathetic Indiana squad and then Michigan State. A real heart-warming story it would have been, now impossible, thanks to Murray.
It also ruined the Big Ten’s chance for a savior.
After a pair of Ohio State defeats at the mercy of the SEC’s Florida and LSU in consecutive seasons, the Big Ten has been considered by many as the most overrated conference in all of college football. Like Obi-Wan Kenobi was to Princess Leah, Penn State was the Big Ten’s only hope. With their “Spread HD” offense run by junior Daryll Clark, perhaps the Nittany Lions could have competed with the nation’s elite on Jan. 8 and re-solidified their conference’s national reputation.
Instead, the Big Ten will continue to be the laughing stalk of the gridiron galaxy, especially if PSU loses to USC in the Rose Bowl, a now-realistic possibility.
It gave life-support to an ailing BCS, bolstering an inferior system while lessening its chance of utter chaos and confusion.
With the loss, Penn State fell out of national championship contention because the Big Ten season simply doesn’t compare to those of the SEC or Big XII, and the Lions’ non-conference schedule was easier than finding a penny at the bottom of a city fountain.
Had Penn State finished undefeated, the BCS droids would have gone haywire. Would a 12-0 Big Ten campaign – without a conference title game – have been more championship-worthy than a one-loss SEC or Big XII season? That sole question could have pushed the NCAA toward a postseason playoff the entire football-watching world has been yearning since the computers took over in 1998. Now, there’s a chance that exactly two BCS conference teams can finish undefeated, making the decision simple for that three-lettered nightmare.
Every sports fan enjoys the David over Goliath defeats; they’re why games are decided between the painted white lines and not the Microsoft margins. But unless you reside in Gainesville, Fla., Norman, Okla. or anywhere in the Lonestar state, Iowa’s victory over Penn State was a not-so-happy ending to a thrilling conference contest, especially if you don Badger Red, Spartan Green or Michigan Maize and Blue.
Funny thing is, after Murray’s 35-yard miss that would have beaten Pittsburgh on Sept. 20, freshman Trent Mossbrucker was supposed to handle the field goal duties inside of 42 yards for the Hawkeyes. Instead, head coach Kirk Ferentz went with his gut feeling, giving the sophomore one more chance.
Talk about redemption. Too bad a life-changing success story ruined so much for everyone else.
Derek is a junior majoring in economics. Were you cheering when Penn State went down? Now do you wish you weren’t? Let Derek know at dzetlin@badgerherald.com.
It was only one kick, three points, a mere chip shot. But oh how one upright-splitting field goal can have such an effect on a coach, a team, a conference. 
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