In his first college start against Pittsburgh (on September 6), McQueary passed for a then-Penn State record 366 yards in a 34–17 victory over the Panthers.

On November 11, 2011, Penn State announced McQueary would not be serving as receivers coach in the final home game of the season due to threats against him,[6] and put him on indefinite paid administrative leave.

[14] Penn State appealed the verdicts, and McQueary ended his lawsuit in November 2017, after reaching undisclosed settlement terms with the university.

[3] Grand jury testimony alleged McQueary reported to Paterno of witnessing Jerry Sandusky raping a 10-year-old boy in a campus locker room; McQueary first told his father about the incident, then the next day informed Paterno, and then ten days later informed other university officials.

[3][16] Journalist John Ziegler has questioned the case's reported dates and timelines,[17] particularly the night of the incident being February 9, 2001, as there was a concert underway that evening.

A prominent Pennsylvania nephrologist says that he was present when McQueary described the incident to his father and the description mentioned hearing but not seeing "rhythmic slapping sounds" in the other room, seeing Sandusky put his hand around the child's waist and later emerging wearing a towel.

[25] Mike McQueary's testimony for the preliminary perjury trial indicates that he heard 'two or three' slapping sounds before entering the locker room, and later saw Sandusky with his arms around the child's waist while hearing 'more than one' of the showerheads running and saw that the child's hair 'was wet'; although he did not see any sexual contact of hands or genitals or any evidence of arousal, just from the positions of the bodies he knew it was 'over the line' and 'extremely sexual' and 'some sort of intercourse' was taking place, and that he tried to explain what he had seen to Coach Paterno by using the word 'fondling.