Joe Paterno’s Loss Puts Eddie Robinson Back Ahead
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By DERON SNYDER
We all know the media can be, uh, funny sometimes when it comes to why and how someone is highlighted and someone else isn’t. A perfect example just happened involving Penn State’s late football coach Joe Paterno and Grambling’s late football coach Eddie Robinson.
On Oct. 29, 2011, headlines blared the news after Penn State’s 10-7 victory against Illinois. “Joe Paterno makes history with 409th win,” read a Sports Illustrated story. “Sloppy Penn State hands Paterno a record victory,” said a New York Times story. Afterward, during a postgame ceremony that was aired at Beaver Stadium to more than 100,000 fans, officials presented Paterno with a plaque.
Paterno had passed Robinson — who retired in 1997 and died in 2007 — for most wins by a Division I coach.
But a not-so-funny thing happened Monday, when the NCAA stripped Penn State of 112 victories (111 credited to Paterno) for the school’s role in the Jerry Sandusky child sex-abuse scandal. Most headlines didn’t refer to Robinson regaining his record; they pointed to former Florida State coach Bobby Bowden surpassing Paterno for most wins in Division I-A (also known as the Football Bowl Series).
