That is, the numbers point to a similar outcome in the minds of most people, but not necessarily Joe Paterno.

"I can't think that way," the Penn State coach said yesterday during his weekly teleconference. "We've got to play our game. Whether it turns out to be a tight, tough game or it's going to be determined by a turnover as the game was last year . . . I have absolutely no way of knowing.

"You never know what kind of field position you're going to have, you never know if you're going to make some mistakes . . . so I don't go into games with that kind of an approach."

The defenses are without frills, basic units that just line up and punch opponents in the mouth on their way to stopping them.

With the Nittany Lions, according to Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, it's a matter of the names and numbers changing but the proficiency remaining the same.

"If you turned film on and didn't have a program in front of you, you couldn't guess which year it is, because they've been doing the same things very well," Tressel said yesterday.

"Their general defensive philosophy is much the same - very strong up front, very difficult to run on much, don't give away easy plays in their secondary. Their linebackers are very, very disciplined and run extremely well."

Terrific defensive players dot both sides: tackle Jared Odrick, and Bowman and fellow linebackers Sean Lee and Josh Hull for the Nittany Lions, and safety Kurt Coleman, end Thaddeus Gibson, and linebackers Brian Rolle and Ross Homan for the Buckeyes.

"It's about working hard and doing whatever it takes to win," Lee said. "Sure, there's a friendly competition to see who has the best defense in the conference. We know Ohio State is up there every year. But it's about competing and finding ways to win."

It figures to be a stressful day for both quarterbacks - the Lions' Daryll Clark and the Buckeyes' Terrelle Pryor - as well as Penn State's Evan Royster, the conference's second-leading runner, who is facing the nation's sixth-ranked rushing defense.

"It's one of the better defensive teams in the country," Paterno said. "They run really well, they're disciplined, they hit hard. You just have to have a balanced attack, and you have to take advantage of any opportunities you may get. But don't think we're going to go in there and dominate the game defensively. Nobody has done that yet."

While a low-scoring game may seem boring to most viewers, it would be "tons of fun" for the defenses, to use Lee's words.

"A 13-6 game is what we want," he said. "We don't want a team to score any points against us. It's good football. I enjoy watching those kinds of games."

Kicker out. Ohio State kicker Aaron Pettrey is out for the season after suffering a knee injury Saturday against New Mexico State. Tressel said the roles of backup kicker Ben Buchanan and 26-year-old walk-on Devin Barkley - who played five seasons in MLS - would be determined during this week's practice.