the offenses are completely different in my mind...USC was doing things that were in an attempt to improve their performance on the field (perks to players brings in more star players, etc...). The abuse at Penn St was not in an effort to improve recruiting, player performance, etc...
I don't necessarily buy this. Covering up Sandusky's abuse was more than likely due to the desire to protect the image and status of the university and program. If they didn't believe there would be negative repercussions for reporting Sandusky, I suspect they would have been much more inclined to report him. Their violation wasn't to bring more star players, etc., but in trying to ensure that they wouldn't lose what they already had.