Penn State’s 31-6 victory over Temple on Saturday at Beaver Stadium raised Joe Paterno’s career record to 26-0 against the Owls, and that makes him 49-4 all-time against his last two opponents (Syracuse, Temple).
BEATING BOWDEN: Paterno is now 386-127-3 in his 44 years as head coach of the Nittany Lions. He stands two wins ahead of Florida State’s Bobby Bowden on the Division I-A all-time victory chart. Bowden may lose 14 wins pending an NCAA ruling on academic cheating penalties. Plus, given that he has a successor-in-waiting, Jimbo Fisher — who is in his second season as the official heir apparent – it is very likely that Joe will end his career ahead of Bobby.
400…REALLY?! It’s starting look like 400 wins are within Joe’s reach. If he coaches into the 2010 season, Paterno should hit that mountaintop next October. After that, Eddie Robinson’s 408 wins at Grambling are on the horizon, unbelievable as it seems. Imagine if Penn State hadn’t hit that prolonged slump in the early 2000s.
WEEKLY RUNNING REPORT: Poor day out of the tunnel for the coach. He made it from the tunnel to the 1-yard line, then stepped off to the side and walked to the sideline from there.
ELITE WARDROBE: Paterno has been sporting a black Nike windbreaker for games this year, eschewing the standard Penn State blue. There’s nothing standard about his new wardrobe. It’s part of the Nike Elite collection, given to BCS bowl teams and Final Four basketball schools. It’s part of being a top-notch Nike customer. The deal includes exclusive sweats for the players.
IOWA SMIOWA: At his post-game press conference at Beaver Stadium Paterno addressed a stat he – and you – are going to be hearing a lot about this week: In the last seven games between Penn State and Iowa, Iowa has won six (including that 2004 Homecoming classic, the Hawkeyes’ 6-4 thumping of the Lions). It may be coachspeak, but Paterno’s take n it makes sense. “The team we are playing this Saturday is not the team it was last year, and we are not the team we were last year or the team we were five years ago.â€
