Following in the footsteps of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the Penn State Nittany Lions are exploring the possibility of playing a college football game in Ireland.
According to CBSSports.com, Penn State head coach Bill O'Briens spoke to reporters on Saturday night and said the game was a strong possibility. The Nittany Lions would be taking a page out of the playbook of the Irish, who opened last season against Navy at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on national television.
"We are definitely looking into playing in Ireland, no question about it,'' O'Brien said, per the Patriot-News.
"We're working on an opponent, and we're working with the Big Ten on that. So that's something that's definitely in the works.''
The head coach did not get into specifics, but the game would serve as the most high profile matchup the team has played since being hit with NCAA sanctions related to the Jerry Sandusky scandal.
The Irish opened the year with a 50-10 win in Ireland, propelling them to an undefeated regular season and an appearance against Alabama in the BCS championship game. Penn State could be hoping for a similar start to the season and there is a chance it could be scheduled early if it's not for the opener.
The team could also schedule the game for the end of the season or later in the year to serve as a sort of bowl game while the postseason ban is in place. Penn State is currently in the first year of a four season ban.
The Nittany Lions had a successful season despite being banned from postseason and bowl game play, finishing 8-4 under first-year coach Bill O'Brien, who took over for the legendary Joe Paterno after he was dismissed. The team went 6-2 in the Big Ten, finishing second behind Ohio State, who also was banned from postseason play.
Penn State lost its first two games before going on a five game winning streak. The team finished the year with three wins in the final four game, including a 24-21 win in overtime against Wisconsin, who was able to go to the conference championship due to the postseason bans.
Penn State ranked 63rd in scoring last season, averaging 29.1 points per game, while allowing 19.1 points per game, ranked 16th in the country.
On Sunday, the family of Joe Paterno responded to the Freeh Report, which was commissioned by Penn State. The former FBI director looked into the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse case and released his findings in July 2012. The new report was composed of 180 pages and attempted to defend Paterno.
The Paternos hired former U.S. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh and other legal experts to review Freeh's report.
"We conclude that the observations as to Joe Paterno in the Freeh report are unfounded, and have done a disservice not only to Joe Paterno and to the Penn State University community, but also to the victims of Jerry Sandusky and the critical mission of educating the public on the dangers of child sexual victimization," the report reads.
Freeh issued a statement later Sunday defending his report.
"I stand by our conclusion that four of the most powerful people at Penn State failed to protect against a child sexual predator harming children for over a decade," he said.
