TRY TO IMAGINE you've just seen "Titanic," 1993's Academy Award-winning film about the doomed luxury vessel. Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet still head the cast, but they are never in any scenes together, thus no romantic sparks fly.

Changes the tenor of the entire movie, doesn't it? Maybe the box office still yields a hefty return, or maybe the expensive production sinks like ... well, you get the idea.

Now consider the curious case of Penn State outside linebackers Sean Lee and Navorro Bowman, leading men for a nationally ranked defense who have provided only a fleeting glimpse of what could be.

Because of injuries incurred by both players, who entered the season as strong All-America candidates, Lee, a fifth-year senior, and Bowman, a fourth-year junior, have started only one game together. That would be the 2009 season opener against Akron, from which Bowman exited early with a pulled groin that would sideline him for the next two games.

In another case of lousy timing, Lee - who missed the entire 2008 season after undergoing surgery to repair an anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee torn during an April practice - sprained his left knee in the fourth quarter of the Sept. 19 Temple game, the week before Bowman returned to action. Lee subsequently missed the next three games.

The end result is that Lee and Bowman have sort of admired each other's work from afar, or as far as the distance is from the sideline to the playing field. But, if the stars align themselves just right, these latest high-quality products off "Linebacker U's" assembly line will finally be working in tandem during tomorrow afternoon's Big Ten Conference game against Minnesota.

"There's not a linebacker in the country with the amount of athleticism, versatility and instincts that he has," Lee said of Bowman. "I'm just excited to play next to him. I think we can make a lot of plays together."

Bowman, of course, reciprocates when asked about Lee.

"I've said it numerous times," he said. "Me and Sean enjoy being on the field at the same time because we're both great students of the game. Together, we see things that maybe one of us might not see at the time.

"It's unfortunate that we haven't been on the field at the same time very often, but, once we are, I think [the Nits] will be a whole lot better and a whole lot faster on defense."

Even coach Joe Paterno, who parses out praise sparingly, the better to not inflate his players' egos, is curious to see what will happen when Lee and Bowman are unleashed as a dynamic duo.

"When Lee and Bowman are 100 percent, they give us two outstanding linebackers," Paterno said. "I think Lee is a superior football player. If we can put him in there with Bowman, that would give us two great outside linebackers and, with Josh Hull in the middle, we'll be fine."

Forget Leonardo and Kate. For Penn State fans to truly appreciate what they have been missing, they need only to speculate as to what might have been in recent seasons if Bednarik Award winners Paul Posluszny and Dan Connor, teammates for 3 years, had kept missing one another at the busy intersection of Opportunity and Luck.

Last season, while an antsy Lee limp-paced the sideline as sort of a de facto coach, Bowman, who had endured his share of self-induced trouble (his implication in an October 2007 on-campus fight landed him in Paterno's doghouse) and personal tragedy (the deaths of his father, grandfather and high school coach last year), did not start the first three games a year ago. His current backup, Bani Gbadyu, did.

But when Bowman was promoted to the starting lineup in Week 4, against Temple, he took off like a jet aircraft, with 122 tackles (65 solo), 16 tackles for loss, four sacks, two fumbles caused, a fumble recovered and an interception. He, of course, was rewarded for that body of work by being named first-team All-Big Ten.

Good-and-getting-better linebackers - Gbadyu and Nate Stupar, mostly - have been holding down the fort this season during the spaced absences of Lee and Bowman, but the anticipation will be palpable in Beaver Stadium until the 108,000-plus spectators see No. 45 (Lee) and No. 11 (Bowman) trot onto the field at the same time. Expect loud and throaty cheers to ensue whenever it happens.

Although Lee insists there is no physical reason for him to sit out another game, a cautious Paterno lists him only as "possible" on the team's injury report.

"It's still not a done deal," Paterno said.

Even if Lee is available to play, his level of effectiveness has yet to be determined. He impressively racked up 32 total tackles during his nearly three full games before being hurt, but he was playing with a bulky brace on his right knee. Will he continue to wear that brace? And will he make it a matched set with one on his more recently injured left knee?

But if Lee and Bowman can finish out the season healthy and at the top of their games, somebody is going to have to call for a rewrite. Maybe the Titanic ends up missing that iceberg after all.

3 THINGS TO LOOK FOR

* Minnesota senior linebackers Eric Campbell, Nate Triplett and Simoni Lawrence make no secret that they will try to surpass - in this game and beyond - whatever derring-do is achieved by Lee, Bowman and Hull. Campbell and Triplett are tied for the Big Ten lead in solo tackles with 41 apiece, while Lawrence, who came to the Gophers after stays at Upper Darby High and Valley Forge Military Academy, has 31 to rank third.

"We'll see at the end of the year which linebackers are more productive," Campbell said in issuing what in effect is a direct challenge to Penn State's heralded trio.

* Will the Nits assign one cornerback the primary responsibility for containing Minnesota's superb wide receiver, Eric Decker? Will they rotate d-backs for that role? Routinely double-cover him?

"You have to handle a lot of different things and at the top of the list is don't let Decker beat you," Paterno said.

* Keep an eye on Penn State defensive tackles Jared Odrick and Ollie Ogbu. If they put enough pressure up the middle to collapse the pass pocket, sack-prone quarterback Adam Weber could be in for a rough day.

THIS WEEK'S GAME

Minnesota at No. 14 Penn State

When: Tomorrow, 3:36 p.m.

Where: Beaver Stadium, State College

TV: Channel 6

Radio: WNTP (990-AM); WPNV (1440-AM)

Records: Minnesota (4-2 overall, 2-1 Big Ten); Penn State (5-1, 1-1)

History: The Nittany Lions and Golden Gophers play for something called the Governor's Bell Trophy, which was first awarded in 1993. Penn State holds a 6-4 series lead. The last time these two teams played, in 2006, the Nits escaped with a 28-27 overtime victory in the Metrodome, which is no longer Minnesota's home stadium.

Coaches: Tim Brewster (third season at Minnesota, 12-19); Joe Paterno (44th season, 388-128-3)

About Minnesota: The focal point of the offense is senior WR Eric Decker, whose number, 7, the same as the great Mickey Mantle's, befits his status as the team's home-run hitter. Decker set a school record with 57 receptions as a sophomore, had 84 as a junior and, with 46 receptions this year, is on pace to surpass himself again with 92, which does not even include a bowl game ... Junior QB Adam Weber is second on the Gophers' all-time passing list with 6,880 yards and should easily surpass Bryan Cupito's 7,446 yards, possibly even before the end of this season. Weber, though, has been sacked more often than ancient Carthage - 58 all told, including 15 this season ... To relieve the unrelenting pressure on Weber, Penn State can expect to see some Wildcat formation stuff with freshman QB MarQueis Gray and sophomore WR Troy Stoudermire occasionally directing snaps.

About Penn State: The Nits lead the Big Ten with 20 sacks, although those numbers might be a bit inflated; 15 came against the four nonconference opponents, including five takedowns of Eastern Illinois QB Jake Christensen last week. In any case, expect would-be sackers to go hard after Minnesota passer Adam Weber. "It's going to come down to attacking their offensive line and throwing everything we got at him," DT Jared Odrick said ... The rotating cast of characters at right tackle might stop spinning, at least this week. After three different players started the last three games, senior Ako Poti is expected to make his second straight start. Nerraw McCormack (ankle) is still gimpy, although DeOn'tae Pannell likely will get some snaps ... The in-season switch of true freshman strong safety Gerald Hodges (Paulsboro, N.J.,) to linebacker is likely to stick. "He can play in space, which is important with all of the spreads you're looking at," coach Joe Paterno said of the 6-2, 220-pound Hodges.

PREDICTION

Penn State 35, Minnesota 14