Sports Illustrated has placed Penn State's Daryll Clark and Stefen Wisniewski on one of its regional covers for its College Football Preview issue, calling the 2009 Lions squad, "Party Crashers." The issue will hit stands on Monday, August 17, but the reprecussions from the photo shoot may be felt well into November. A monkey wrench has just been tossed into the Lions' plans to repeat as conference champions, a monkey wrench called the SI Cover Jinx.Before you roll your eyes and click away, let me try to convince you. I won't say I'm superstitious, but I have been living with the guilt that comes from believing I am the sole reason that Penn State failed to go undefeated in 1996 (I wore the wrong shirt to the Iowa game and the wrong shoes to the Ohio State game). I know that what I eat, wear or do during Penn State games can't possibly impact the outcome, but why take a chance?
A quick search through Sports Illustrated's online cover archive reveals that Penn State appeared on the cover of the famous magazine a total of 15 previous times. Subtract from that total the two commemorative issues (2008, 1994) featuring Penn State, the two times the Lions appeared in the background of a photo featuring another team (1995, 1979, 1990) and the 1987 cover that had only a tiny inset photo of Penn State and that leaves 9 covers to examine as a test of the potency of the jinx. Let's get started...
Chuck Fusina was the first Penn State player to be selected as an SI cover model, gracing the front of the November 13, 1978 issue. The Lions were the top-ranked team in the country, having just dismantled fifth-ranked Maryland 27-3 and NC State to run its record to 10-0. Once the issue was released, the Lions defeated Pittsburgh 17-10 to set up a matchup against Alabama in the Sugar Bowl for the national title. Fusina, who won that year's Maxwell Award and was the runner-up in the Heisman Trophy voting, threw four interceptions as Penn State lost 14-7 to the Crimson Tide.
In 1982, Penn State featured a senior-laden squad that was labeled National Title or bust. The Lions got off to a great start, punctuating its 4-0 start with a dramatic, last-second victory over second-ranked Nebraska. The win earned Todd Blackledge the cover of Sports Illustrated on October 4, 1982. Just five days later, the third-ranked Lions traveled to Tuscaloosa, Al. and were humbled by the Tide 42-21.
Perhaps the most famous cover for Penn State fans just might be the one that followed the Lions' 1983 Sugar Bowl win featuring a photo of a jumping-for-joy Greg Garrity with the words "No. 1 AT LAST!" emblazoned across the top. The cover punctuated the first ever national title for Penn State, but was followed by three straight losses to open up the 1983 campaign, including a 38-point throttling from Nebraska and a home loss to the Cincinnati Bearcats.
The Lions' next SI Cover would come on November 11, 1985, with the magazine asking the question, "Who's No. 1 Now?" above pictures of Penn State's DJ Dozier and Florida's Ray McDonald. The Lions would answer the question emphatically by blowing out Notre Dame by 30 points the next week and then doing the same to rival Pitt to end its season 11-0 and the top-ranked team in the nation. However, on New Years' Day in Miami, Penn State would see its National Title dreams crushed by Barry Switzer and the Oklahoma Sooners, 25-10.
On December 22, 1986, Sports Illustrated made history by naming Joe Paterno its sportsman of the Year, placing the coach on its cover. Less than two weeks later, Paterno's squad would pull off a tremendous upset and defeat the Miami Hurricanes 14-10 for the program's second national title.
Halfway through the 1994 season, the Lions were 6-0 and ranked number one in both the AP and Coaches Polls after defeating fifth-ranked Michigan in Ann Arbor, 31-24. Sports Illustrated rewarded Penn State's accomplishment by placing wide receiver Freddie Scott on the cover with the words, "Penn State: No. 1." The phrase was true, but short-lived. After a 63-14 dismantling of #21 Ohio State, the coaches poll dropped PSU to #2. One week later, following a deceptively close 35-29 victory at Indiana, the Lions fell behind top-ranked Nebraska in the AP Poll as well. Penn State finished the year 12-0 and became the first ever team from the Big Ten to go 12-0, win The Rose Bowl and not earn a national championship.
In 1997, the Lions were coming off of a 11-2 season with a Fiesta Bowl win over a Texas team that had both Priest Holmes and Ricky Williams in the backfield. With loads of talent returning, Sports Illustrated tabbed Penn State its preseason number one, choosing Joe Jurevicious for its College Football Preview cover. Things would start well for Penn State, as the Lions streaked to a 7-0 record before losing 34-8 to eventual national champion Michigan at home. Penn State would finish the year 9-3, including a Citrus Bowl loss to Florida in which the biggest story was the absence of both Curtis Enis and Jurevicious. Enis was guilty of improper contact with an agent, while Jurevicious didn't even make the trip for alleged poor academic performance.
Two years later, Sports Illustrated once again picked Penn State as its top team in the preseason, this time featuring a menacing Lavar Arrington on the College Football Preview Issue. The Lions began the year 9-0 before ending the regular season with three straight losses to drop off out the national and conference title picture, finishing the year with an Alamo Bowl win against Texas A&M, a disappointing consolation prize for a team with so much promise.
In 2005, the Lions won their first Big Ten Championship in 11 seasons. Following the team's conference title clinching victory over Michigan State, Sports Illustrated once again put Penn State coach Paterno on the cover on November 28, 2005. Just over one month later, the next time the Lions took the field, the Lions captured the Orange Bowl Championship with a triple-overtime victory against the Florida State Seminoles.Some might consider it just a coincidence, but the more paranoid among us see a disturbing trend. The two times that Penn State was on a preseason Sports Illustrated cover, the Lions failed to win 10 games or make a major bowl game. Covers featuring players from undefeated teams in 1978 & 1985 both foreshadowed disappointing losses in national championship games later that season. In addition, in-season covers from 1994 and 1982 preceded disappointment the following week for both, a 21-point loss for the '82 squad and an unwarranted drop in the rankings for the '94 team. It seems like the only safe bet is to put coach Paterno on the cover. So, is it too late for a reshoot?
Posts
