Joe Paterno had to wait a long time for his first national championship, and some of his former players regret a decision they made that cost Penn State a shot at the title in 1969. ‘‘I’ve always been bothered by one thing,’’ All-American defensive tackle Mike Reid said. ‘‘We should have gone to Texas and played Texas for the national championship.’’ The Nittany Lions were 10-0 in 1969 and had a chance to play the No. 1 Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl. Paterno let the team vote on which bowl it would attend, and the players picked the Orange Bowl for a matchup against Missouri. As a result, Penn State and Paterno had no championships to show for back-to-back undefeated seasons and a 31-game unbeaten streak from 1967-70. Paterno and a lot of Lion fans blame President Richard Nixon for how he handled the championship issue in 1969. Nixon had awarded Texas a plaque commemorating the national champion after a victory over No. 2 Arkansas at the end of the regular season.