The following is a fanpost submitted by one of the readers of NittanyWhiteOut.  If you want to see your work on this site, please feel free to contact us. With football season now over, we’re continuing our look back at the past decade with Geoff Alaishuski’s list of Penn State’s biggest stinkers from 2000 to 2009.

With the first decade of the new millenium now behind us, you have likely seen all sorts of Top 10 lists.  Well, I am and always will be a pessimist in life, so I began thinking about what the Bottom 10 moments in Penn State football were for the years 2000-2009.  Penn State suffered its worst 5 year stretch in its storied history between 2000 and 2004 but the losses in that stretch just blended into one giant mess.  So, many of my Bottom 10 moments actually came from the last 5 years of the decade.

10. March 2008 – Terrelle Pryor chooses Ohio State

You probably think I’m crazy for putting this on the list.  Pryor has struggled mightily over the last 2 years.   His key fumble in the 2008 matchup allowed Penn State to win in the Horseshoe for the first time since joining the Big Ten.  His throwing motion is awful.   Daryll Clark was more than adequate for the past two years.  Allow me to explain.

This was my wildcard on the list.  I still remember how I felt the day he chose Ohio State.  I had just landed in Las Vegas for my March Madness trip and I was angry.  Angry at his prima donna antics  throughout his recruitment.  Angry at the way he led us along.  Angry at our coaching staff for failing to get a premier quarterback for the second year in a row.  Angry after suffering through the Morelli era.

Yes, I was angry.  And after watching the Rose Bowl 2 days ago, I think Pryor has turned the corner and will be a really good quarterback for the Buckeyes in the next two years.  And I’m very scared that he may be the difference to why our potential National Championship run in 2011 crashes and burns.  We shall see.

9. September 26, 2009 – PSU loses to Iowa

I included this loss on the list for two reasons.  First, the loss derailed the hopes of a Penn State national championship in 2009, a year where Penn State was favored in every game they played because of an “easy schedule” and playing its best two opponents at home.  Second and more importantly, since the official all stadium “Whiteout” was established, Penn State fans felt a sense of invincibility when it came to home games especially under the lights.  When Adrian Clayborn returned his blocked punt for a touchdown to take the lead in the 4^th quarter, that invincibility evaporated.  It carried forward to the Ohio State game later in the year and I fear it may continue into the next “decade.”

8. September 16, 2002 – Joe Paterno chases official

Penn State was 3-0 and 2 weeks removed from its thrashing of #8 Nebraska.  Penn State trailed Iowa by 22 points in the second half but began a furious rally to force overtime.  In the overtime, 2 crucial calls went against the Nittany Lions and Penn State lost 42-35.  Following the game, Joe Paterno felt it necessary to run down and grab the official, Dick Honig, from behind to inform him of his disappointment in their efforts.

Over the next 3 years, how many times did we see that clip on television?  Paterno’s potential senility became a running joke in the media.  Just when Penn State fans started to believe that Paterno was going to turn around the program, it fell flat on its face again.  The team would suffer 3 more losses in the season and 16 in the next two.  It began against Iowa who would continue to haunt us throughout the decade.

7. Summer 2003 – Chad Henne decommits from Penn State and signs with Michigan

When you think about it, who could blame the kid from West Lawn, PA?  Michigan had 5 starting quarterbacks on NFL rosters.  They had Scot Loeffler as a quarterbacks coach who had played in the NFL.  Penn State’s quarterback coach had few meaningful snaps in college and had just been hired by Penn State after stints at Virginia and James Madison.

The announcement came as a complete shock to the Nittany Lions coaching staff as 36 hours before his announcement press conference, Henne called assistant coach Bill Kenney to say that he “couldn’t wait to announce for Penn State.”  Then, Henne’s quote at the press conference: “I just felt a lot more comfortable here with Scot Loeffler and him developing me as a quarterback than Jay Paterno.”  Ouch!

Penn State thought they had Henne locked up and had stopped recruiting other quarterbacks.  Henne went on to engineer the game winning drive in a contest we (spoiler alert) may see later on in the Bottom 10 list and also led Michigan to an 11-0 start in 2006 before losing to Ohio State and USC.

As a “saving grace” Penn State was able to convince another Pennsylvania quarterback to change his commitment from Pittsburgh to Penn State.  We all know how that worked out.

6.  September 2, 2000 – PSU loses to Toledo

Penn State started the 2000 season losing to USC at the Meadowlands but were sure to be able to rebound against a MAC foe in Beaver Stadium where they hadn’t lost a home opener in 10 years, right?  Wrong.

Toledo scored the first 24 points and dominated the game winning 24-6.  It was the first time Penn State had ever lost to a MAC opponent.  Penn State lost the battle on the ground 245 to 30 and time of possession 40:19 to 19:41.  It was the beginning of 5 years of failure and possibly the worst loss in Beaver Stadium history.

Paterno was quoted after the game, “I think we need to take a realistic look at whether we are any good.  Toledo is a good football team and we obviously aren’t any good.”

Look for the Bottom 5 Moments of the Decade to be posted towards the middle of the week. Follow Geoff on Twitter and let him know what you think of his list: @The_Nit.

Releated Posts:

1. The Ten Worst Moments of the Decade That Was: #5-#1
2. The Penn State All-Decade Team: Tight End
3. The Penn State All-Decade Team: Center
4. By the Numbers: Most Overrated / Underrated teams of the last decade
5. The Penn State All-Decade Team: Wide Receivers