Over the past five years, Penn State Football has recorded a 51-13 record (.79688), giving them the 7th highest winning percentage in college football.  Included in those 5 seasons, are two Big Ten Championships and a 4-1 bowl record (1-1 in BCS bowls) with wins over Florida St., Tennessee, Texas A&M and LSU (loss to USC in the 2009 Rose Bowl).

But do Penn State fans expect more? 

Is a national championship required to ultimately deem a season a success?  At what point will Penn State fans patience wear thin and really expect to win or at least play for a national championship?  Penn State has not won a national championship since 1986 (23 years ago).  Now, in 1994 the Lions did everything they could to obtain their third national championship (1982 & 1986), but this was before the Big Ten was in the BCS, so they did not get a chance at Nebraska and thus were not rewarded for a perfect season.  In 2005 and 2008, the team finished both years with only 1 regular season loss, both suffered on the last plays of the game.

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So what factors need to be considered for Penn State to compete for the big prize?  Coaching - There are no signs Paterno is hanging it up anytime soon, but can he keep his staff together for another 5 years.  It will be very tough, but possible.  Recruiting - This year the Nittany Lions will have a top 10 recruiting class, so talent in the near future should not be issue.

Schedule - Outside of a home and home series with Alabama starting next year, the out of conference schedule is very manageable.  As for the Big Ten, let's be honest there is only one team that should give Penn State a real consistent challenge, Ohio State.  Michigan will be down for at least the next 2-3 years, Wisconsin is steady but not elite and if Penn State can find a way to get the Iowa monkey off their back, they should challenge for the Big Ten Championship every year.

I think Penn State fans should expect a National Championship caliber team every year for the next 5 years, which will finish out a very strong decade and possibly be the end of the Paterno era.  But does Penn State need at least an appearance in a national championship in the next five years, to make the fans truly happy and satisfied?  I say yes.

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