PHILADELPHIA (AP) – With another milestone in reach, Joe Paterno is again the top story at Penn State this week – no matter how hard he tries to downplay it.
JoePa can get his 400th victory Saturday against Northwestern.
“I’m trying not to get involved in that. I don’t go home and think about what we’ve done, I go home and worry about what we have to get done,” Paterno said Tuesday at Beaver Stadium.
Too late. This latest potential achievement in Paterno’s remarkable career is being already touted on ESPN promotions for Saturday’s game, among other outlets.
Paterno could become the first FBS coach to reach 400 wins and the third coach overall, behind Eddie Robinson (408) at I-AA Grambling State and John Gagliardi (476) at St. John’s, Minn. Like Paterno, Gagliardi is still active, in his 58th season at the Division III school, and 62nd overall.
Paterno’s a mere amateur by comparison, with 45 years on the sideline at Penn State, plus 16 as an assistant in Happy Valley.
In typical gruff fashion, Paterno shot down repeated questions about the milestone. After a third query, about what 400 wins might mean for the program instead of himself, he shook his head in annoyance.
“I’m only concerned about these kids getting some wins while they’re in college. They’re only here for four years. I’ve been (here) four, plus a couple more,” Paterno said. He turns 84 next month.
He’s feeling much better about the direction of the team after a 41-31 win over defensively challenged Michigan gave Penn State a second straight victory following a two-game slide.
While the injury-ravaged defense still needs a lot of work – the Nittany Lions have uncharacteristically allowed at least 423 yards of total offense to each of their last three foes – the offense has rebounded after a so-so start.
They’re doing it with freshman starter Rob Bolden mainly on the sideline. He hasn’t played since the second quarter of the win over Minnesota two weeks ago after getting knocked out with a concussion.
Sophomore backup Matt McGloin played respectably against the Gophers, and Paterno gave the former walk-on for his first career start last week at Michigan. While Bolden was cleared to play, Paterno said Tuesday he was being extra cautious to ensure the freshman’s health.
McGloin threw for 250 yards and a touchdown, plus had a 1-yard TD plunge, while Bolden watched in uniform from the sideline.
On Tuesday, Paterno said Bolden and McGloin would compete this week for the starting job. While he wants to see Bolden go full-speed in practice, Paterno said he’s “completely off the injury.”
And as if Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald doesn’t have enough to do, Paterno hinted at potentially playing both guys.
“We’ll let them have fun this week and let them compete and make the decision later on this week,” Paterno said. “I imagine we’ll have to rethink playing only one kid, maybe we want to play both since they’re both young kids – try to get them some experience.”
But Paterno couldn’t leave Beaver Stadium without at least one more attempt from a reporter to get him to open up about his career with 400 wins close. He was a little more forthcoming.
“Every once in a while you wonder if someone can do a better job for the people I’m responsible for. But, I’ve never gotten to the point that I need to get out of this thing. It’s going to come,” he said. “That’s why I don’t get excited about that 400 thing, because, geez, if you hang around long enough … How many years have I been head coach?”
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AP freelance writer Jocelyn Syrstad contributed to this report from State College, Pa.
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