PENN STATE COACH Joe Paterno is a boxing fan. He must be, because he compares his team's present circumstances to that of a fighter who, after a few easy victories over soft opposition, finally finds himself in a tough spot, hurt and on the canvas.

Will the Nittany Lions beat the count and come back snarling after last week's 21-10 upset loss to Iowa in Beaver Stadium? Or will they fight tentatively, not quite sure how to react after taking that big shot to the jaw that drew first blood?

"We've got to find out if we've got some fighters, it's as simple as that," JoePa said after his team's national-championship aspirations took a major hit from those pesky, counterpunching Hawkeyes. "If you get knocked down, you feel sorry for yourself. You get angry. I think [the Nits will] be angry."

In a curious twist of matchmaking, uh, scheduling, the first road game for No. 15 Penn State (3-1, 0-1 Big Ten) is tomorrow afternoon in Champaign, Ill., against an opponent that also is woozy and reeling.

Underachieving Illinois (1-2, 0-1) is coming off a 30-0 drubbing by Ohio State that has Illini fans grousing about the direction of the program under fifth-year coach Ron Zook, and even more so about the erratic play of sometimes-spectacular, sometimes-awful, fourth-year senior starting quarterback Juice Williams.

It all makes for two wounded teams, with a plunge from even fringe-contender status surely awaiting the loser.

"There's no crisis," Illinois defensive tackle Josh Brent said of his team's mood entering what is shaping up as an early season, make-or-break contest. "We're not in panic mode."

Maybe not yet, but the red panic-mode button is a fingertip away for whichever team emerges on the wrong end of the decision at about 6:45 p.m., when twilight turns into night and sunny dreams of BCS bowl games can be enshrouded in dark shadows.

For those who believe the past often is a precursor of the future, there are parallels from which each team can draw. Will this season be a repeat of 2005, or 2007?

"I would hope we'll be more like the 2005 team, which battled back after a loss," said Sean Lee, Penn State's fifth-year senior outside linebacker and captain who might play with a brace on his sprained right knee after being sidelined against Iowa. "That team had a ton of great character, and I think we have a ton of great character this year, too."

In 2005, Penn State, which had been 6-0, fell from the ranks of the undefeated in the cruelest manner possible; the Nits lost, 27-25, at Michigan on a 10-yard touchdown pass by the Wolverines with 2 seconds remaining - on a beat-the-clock drive in which officials earlier had put 2 seconds back on the clock.

But despite that disappointment, quarterback Michael Robinson and his ticked-off teammates came swarming back like so many Arturo Gattis and Matthew Saad Muhammads, fighters who were at their most dangerous when dinged. The Nits bolted to a 56-3 halftime lead and won, 63-10, setting the stage for an 11-1 finish that included a triple-overtime victory over Florida State in the Orange Bowl.

That is in stark contrast to 2007, when Penn State followed a 14-9 home loss to Michigan with a 27-20 setback at Illinois, which spurred the Illini to an improbable run to the Rose Bowl.

Those defeats to Michigan and Illinois in '07 mark the last time Paterno-coached teams lost back-to-back games, a bit of history the old master and his players would not like to repeat any time soon.

What is curious is that tomorrow's outcome could come down to who fares better between Williams and his Penn State counterpart, Daryll Clark, each of whom is coming off a performance they'd just as soon forget.

Clark played what arguably was his worst game at Penn State against Iowa, completing just 12 of 32 passes for 198 yards while being intercepted a career-high three times. In Champaign, no one is yelling "The Juice is loose!" much these days with Williams, who is nursing a sore right quadriceps, still looking for his first touchdown pass while being picked off three times. He managed just 77 passing yards, with two interceptions, against the Buckeyes.

Ironically, Clark and Williams became fast friends this summer while they were counselors at the Elite 11 Quarterback Camp for promising high school passers in Aliso Viejo, Calif. After his own poor showing against Ohio State earlier in the day, Williams text-messaged Clark after watching him fail to find his rhythm in the nationally televised game against Iowa.

"[Clark] struggled this past weekend and so did myself and our team," Williams said. "He and myself are looking to bounce back this Saturday."

3 things to look for

 

Page:   1  of  2  View All

1 |   2      Next»