For No. 3-ranked Penn State, this week's bye couldn't have come at a better time. The Nittany Lions are coming off their biggest win in years, a tough three-game stretch involving Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio State and are looking to rest some bumps and bruises. Those injuries include quarterback Daryll Clark, who suffered a concussion against Ohio State (he should be good to go against Iowa next Saturday) and coach Joe Paterno, who's going to have his ailing right leg checked out this morning.

Paterno, by the way, basically said he plans on coming back next season (Yawn) for those (one or two) who may have thought otherwise. Here's this morning's story. At the bottom of the story is a chart mapping out the remaining schedules for the BCS top six. Enjoy.

 

Penn State coach Joe Paterno held his weekly teleconference today -- despite the Lions' bye week -- and the 81-year-old seemed relaxed, joking with reporters. Here's a snippet of what he had to say with ... you know the drill.

1. Asked about the schedule during this bye week, Paterno said the team had the day off yesterday, would practice without pads today, go at it tomorrow and Thursday, have the weekend off and then get back to work next week. Still, he said, "We fouled up the week already because we had a press conference." (Zinger!)

2. Paterno said that he was scheduled to see his doctors tomorrow morning so that his right leg can be checked out. They will run the standard tests to see what the problem is and if it would require surgery. It has been speculated that it's his hip and that he may need to have it replaced. Joe said he would most likely elect to have it treated after the season "so I can go out and recruit." (He still recruits? That's news to me.)

3. Asked about Daryll Clark's state after he suffered a concussion on Saturday, Paterno said the quarterback would rest a few days, but that he expects him back for the Iowa game next week. "I don't think there's any question he's going to be all right when we play Iowa," he said.

4. Penn State has had some mediocre recruiting classes in recent years based on the recruiting Web sites/gurus. Apparently, those people haven't gauged the Lions' talent correctly. Asked how knowledgeable this faction has proved to be, Paterno didn't waste his chance to take a shot at this growing phenomenon. "Knowledgeable isn't exactly the adjective I'd use," he said, adding, "It's a lot of hooey." (I couldn't agree more.)

5. Joe said that his assistants really haven't taken on any additional responsibilities since his injury has further limited what he can do at practice and on game day. He did say that he can't go into the office some mornings and that he participates in meetings via conference call. (Anything that keeps Joe and his BMW off the roads is a good thing.)

6. Drew Astorino apparently injured his hand Saturday. Paterno said he's OK.

7. In case you missed it, State College erupted with joy after the Lions beat Ohio State. Of course, this eruption precipitated into some vandalism and conflicts with police. Paterno said that he was happy the students were celebrant, but that vandalism takes it too far. (Words of advice for Philly. This place is going to burn if the Phils win the World Series.) 

8. The last time Penn State went 9-0 was in 1999. That team, No. 2 in the country at the time, was then upset by Minnesota on Homecoming, lost to Michigan and then Michigan State and dropped out of sight. The Lions lost those three games by a total of eight points. Asked if he could use that situation to guard against the Lions' remaining three games this season, Paterno said he has a different cast of characters this time around, mentioning without name a few players from the '99 team that were expected to be high draft picks and took their eyes off the prize. (Paging LaVar Arrington and Courtney Brown.)  

9. Last question: Asked if he plans on returning next season, Paterno said, "Have I ever said I wasn't coming back?" (Duh.)

 

Penn State safety Mark Rubin was named Big Ten defensive player of the week today. You know the reason why. Here's the link to the athletic department's press release.

Also, the start time for the Nov. 8 game at Iowa has been set. It will be a 3:30 kickoff broadcast regionally on 6ABC. I'm guessing the following week's home game with Indiana will be a noon start and the season finale with Michigan State at Beaver Stadium the next week will be a 3:30 p.m. start.

 

Video from The Daily Collegian, Penn State's daily student newspaper.

The BCS standings were released last night and Penn State was still No. 3 behind Texas and Alabama. But the Lions did narrow the margin between them and the No. 2-ranked Crimson Tide. If 'bama and Texas keep winning, however, the gap will continue to grow because the two top-ranked teams have better opponents to play in the coming weeks than the Lions.

This morning's story looks ahead to the Penn State dilemma and back on the Lions' big 13-6 win over Ohio State in Columbus.

 

The Nittany Lions' win over the Ohio State Buckeyes may have taken place in Columbus, Ohio - but that didn't stop the enthusiastic students back in State College, Pa. from gathering to celebrate in a less-than-reasonable fashion.

Per the student newspaper, The Daily Collegian:

"Crowds erupted into celebration Saturday night after the Nittany Lions' 13-6 win over Ohio State, sending thousands of cheering students into the streets, coughing under a cloud of police pepper spray."

And the town newspaper, the Centre Daily Times, adds detail:

"Revelers in the crowd, which stretched from Beaver to College avenues, between Garner and Pugh streets, and up to Locust Lane, tore down at least two light poles, a stop sign and a one-way-street sign."

A student posted video from the scene on YouTube, below.

Students have had a long history of celebrating big wins, even uprooting the goal posts on the field to carry them around town. They've also rallied - and even rioted - before, including a 2000 mid-summer spree that saw cars flipped on their roofs, bonfires lit in the center of Beaver Ave., and beer kegs flung from 10-story balconies.

Last night's celebration was quickly dispersed by pepper-spray-wielding police - who may be needed again, as the Lions continue their undefeated season...

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- I just e-mailed my Associated Press Top 25. There weren't many changes. The top three remains the same: Texas, Alabama and your Penn State Nittany Lions. There was a pretty big shake up in the bottom half of the rankings. Here is my ballot in its entirety:

1. Texas (8-0)
2. Alabama (8-0)
3. Penn State (9-0)
4. Oklahoma (7-1)
5. Florida (6-1)
6. Texas Tech (8-0)
7. Oklahoma State (7-1)
8. Georgia (7-1)
9. Southern Cal (6-1)
10. Missouri (6-2)
11. Ohio State (7-2)
12. Boise State (7-0)
13. Utah (8-0)
14. TCU (8-1)
15. BYU (7-1)
16. Florida State (6-1)
17. LSU (5-2)
18. Minnesota (7-1)
19. Tulsa (7-0)
20. Ball State (8-0)
21. Oregon (6-2)
22. West Virginia (5-2)
23. Michigan State (7-2)
24. Maryland (6-2)
25. North Carolina (6-2)

 

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State provided the test. And Penn State passed it with flying colors. The Nittany Lions scored their biggest victory in 14 years in outlasting the Buckeyes, 13-6, in an old school defensive slugfest. With three games remaining, they are poised to claim their third Big Ten title and are still very much in the national title picture. Penn State will remain third when the BCS standings are released tonight behind No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Alabama, both winners yesterday. Here are some photos from the game.

Also, last night's game featured two programs that have become rivals in the recruiting world. A number of Lions are from Ohio while a handful of Buckeyes are from Pennsylvania, including quarterback Terrelle Pryor.

 

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- You're looking live at my hotel room. OK, so we're still hours away from tonight's showdown, but you can feel the excitement building here in beautiful Columbus. I got ESPN's College Gameday on the boob tube and there are Penn State fans mulling all over the Crown Plaza.

Joe Paterno stopped by the media get together last night and seemed relaxed. I don't know if that means he's feeling confident about his squad after the past week of practice or not. One of my spies says the Lions were business-like during the week. That could be good (not loosing focus) or it good be bad (tensed), but Paterno has made a point of telling his players, 'Hey, it's only a football game. Go out and have fun.' Which is good advice for a game of this magnitude.

Plus, what do the Lions have to lose? OK, they have everything to lose. But Penn State has nothing to lose as far as playing here at Ohio State. The Lions haven't won here in seven tries as Big Ten members. In fact, they couldn't manage more than 10 points in any of the losses. That's not good. I sincerely doubt they'll be held under ten. The offense is too good, too poised and has too many weapons.

I'm convinced Penn State is better than Ohio State right now (hence the Vegas line as 2 1/2-point favorites). The key for the Lions, then, is to play their game and not do anything out of the ordinary. That means no turnovers. The Buckeyes defense has been great at causing turnovers. They had five at Michigan State last week and that had more to do with the team's success than anything quarterback Terrelle Pryor did.

Speaking of Pryor, I think defensive coordinator Tom Bradley will devise a scheme that will confuse the freshman on passing downs. As good as the Buckeyes will be on the ground with Pryor and running back Beanie Wells, they need to drop back to pass more than the 11 times they did last week. Pryor is fairly accurate but hasn't been asked to do anything extraordinary through the air. But if the Lions can't slow down the bruising Wells, they're going to have to stack the box more, thus giving the Ohio State receivers some one-on-one coverage.

Penn State on offense has to hold onto the ball. They've been lucky they haven't turned over the ball more since they've put it on the carpet a number of times. Clark has been excellent at not trying to force things through the air and has only two interceptions. But his handling the football when he runs has been shaky. Other than that, I can't see Penn State not getting its yards. The line and running back Evan Royster are too good to be contained for too long. And if Ohio State wants to key on the run game as Wisconsin did two weeks ago, Clark and his senior wide receivers only need a few attempts to break things open (see: second half of Wisconsin game). The only worry then would be scoring in the red zone and the Lions have been excellent down there.

So, it sounds like all Penn State has to do is show up and play its game and win, right? Not so fast, to steal a phrase. The Lions haven't lost seven straight at the Horseshoe without reason. I know this is a different team, but the coaching staff remains the same and Paterno clams up in spots like this. He said last night that he'll be in the press box again. I don't know if that helps or hurts the team. It hasn't hindered them yet.

They'll be a series of tests throughout this game. If the Lions can pass the early ones and hang tight, even if they trail, I think they'll find a way to win. I'm closing my eyes on this one and throwing the dart that Penn State wins a closely fought, physical contest. If that happens the countdown to the national championship -- provided the Lions get a little help from either Alabama or Texas -- is on.

Prediction: Penn State 27, Ohio State 24.