THINKS THE EAGLES STOLE ONE
Coming off a big win against Ohio State, Penn State overlooked Iowa and watched its national championship hopes dwindle because of an unexpected loss to the Hawkeyes.
The No. 12 Lions learned to focus on one game at a time. Every game is the most important one, particularly this season because of the lack of a dominant team in the Big Ten.
Northwestern (5-3, 2-2) is the focus today when Penn State (7-1, 3-1) travels to Ryan Field in Evanston, Ill. for a 4:30 p.m. kickoff.
"We really can't overlook anybody," tight end Andrew Quarless said. "Last year, we kind of had that outlook going into the Iowa game. We felt we got past the hardest games of season, beat all of them and then went in against Iowa lackadaisical and you see what happened. We can't overlook anybody and we're not going to."
Sandwiched between a 35-10 victory against Michigan and a looming matchup with Ohio State, it would be easy for Penn State to downplay this game. It's not a rivalry (see Ohio State). There are no streaks to be broken (see Michigan). There's not really much ground to gain in the Big Ten title race with this game. There's a lot at stake, though.
"I don't think there's a trap game at all," linebacker Navorro Bowman said. "You just have to be on your toes and ready to play.
"Schedules are made for a reason. You know the games you have to play. You can't pick the schedule. You have to be ready to play whoever."
The series, which Penn State leads 9-3, has not been very competitive. Recent history, though, indicates this game could be a lot closer than expected. Three of the past four meetings between the teams have been decided by 10 or fewer points; Northwestern won two of those games.
"Northwestern has a bunch of kids I really like, and I really like [coach Pat] Fitzgerald," Penn State coach Joe Paterno said. "I think he's a heck of a coach. I don't know a lot of his staff, but their kids play college football the way you like to see it played. They play every down. And they're tough and smart and they adjust well, and we're going to have a tough football game on our hands."
Northwestern has been involved in a few close games this season. Four of the Wildcats' games have been decided by a touchdown or less, with Northwestern winning three of those games. Only two games were decided by more than 10 points.
"It just proves to our young men that when you play the game for 60 minutes good things can happen," Fitzgerald said.
Northwestern is coming off a 29-28 victory against Indiana. Trailing 28-3 midway through the second quarter, Northwestern scored 26 unanswered points to mark the biggest comeback in school history. That resiliency gives Penn State another reason to look no further than Northwestern.
"We've got to play Northwestern; I haven't even thought about the game after that one," Paterno said. "We're going to have to stay focused on Northwestern. No question they're getting better and maybe, hopefully, we can beat them. [It has] nothing to do with what comes after it." *
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