Penn State becomes bowl-eligible for first time since Sandusky scandal

Penn State defeated Temple 30-13 on Saturday to become bowl-eligible for the first time since 2011, the season before the program was punished for the Jerry Sandusky scandal.

Penn State defeated Temple 30-13 on Saturday to become bowl-eligible for the first time since 2011, the season before the program was banned from postseason play as part of the punishment for the Jerry Sandusky scandal.

In the summer of 2012, eight months after news first broke that the former longtime assistant football coach was alleged to have sexually abused multiple children, the NCAA hit Penn State with sanctions that included the vacating of all wins from 1998 to 2011, scholarship restrictions, the postseason ban and a $60 million fine.

The postseason ban was originally supposed to last until the 2016 season, but earlier this fall, the NCAA restored Penn State's postseason eligibility and lifted its scholarship restrictions because of how the program and university have responded since the punishment was handed down. The scholarship restrictions had been lessened last year for the same reason.

The Nittany Lions improved to 6-4 with the win over Temple. The team would've made a bowl game each of the past two seasons had it not been for the ban.

• LAYDEN: Where is Penn State three years after Sandusky scandal?

Penn State's win came the same day school president Eric Barron announced he would review the Freeh Report, the conclusions of which provided the basis for the NCAA's sanctioning of the university.

Sandusky was convicted on 45 counts of sexual abuse in June 2012, a month before the sanctions were introduced. He's currently serving 30-60 years in prison.

- Ben Estes