Joe Paterno – Penn State v Michigan Preview | Most Wins – College Football Coach

(Photo Art by Midwest Sports Fans)

Coming into the 2008 college football season, Joe Paterno was one win behind Bobby Bowden (as of March 1, 2008 at the date of linking) on the all-time NCAA Division 1 college football coaching wins list. He was also at the center of a firestorm surrounding off-field issues with members of his Penn State Nittany Lions football team, as chronicled ESPN’s Outside the Lines. The controversy, combined with the Nittany Lions pedestrian 9-7 Big Ten record over the 2006 and 2007 seasons, led to whispers coming into the 2008 season that it might be time for Joe Paterno to step down.

You remember these whispers. They were the same ones that cropped up after the 2004 season when Paterno and the Nittany Lions were reeling after posting losing records in 4 out of 5 seasons, culminating with back-to-back 9th place finishes in a Big Ten conference not known for its depth of competition. But in 2005, the winning tradition was resurrected in Happy Valley as the Nittany Lions went 11-1 and finished 3rd in the nation after an Orange Bowl victory.

Once again, Joe Paterno has proven to be an immortal coaching phoenix. Joe Paterno, the Nittany Phoenix, has risen from the ashes once again to lead a Penn State team that currently sits at 7-0 (3-0) and ranked 3rd in the nation as they prepare to take on the hapless Michigan Wolverines in Happy Valley this weekend.

Oh, and as for being behind Bobby Bowden? Joe Paterno, as of this posting, now sits atop the list of NCAA D1 college football coaches with 379 wins. Bobby Bowden has 377.

Can Joe Paterno get win number 380 this weekend? All signs point to yes except one: Michigan has beaten Penn State nine straight games, by an average victory margin of two touchdowns. But if there was ever season for the streak to be broken, this is it. The Penn State Nittany Lions are clicking on all cylinders, outscoring their seven opponents this season 317-77. Michigan, on the other hand, led by Midwest Sports Fans whipping boy and certified egomaniac Rich Rodriguez, has been outscored by its six opponents 113-149.

So Penn State is averaging 45.3 points per game (good for 7th in the nation) while the Wolverines and their offensive genius of a coach are racking up a whopping 18.8 points per game against the likes of Toledo and Miami (Ohio). (Actually, Michigan underperformed their average against these historic football powerhouses, scoring a combined 26 points while going 1-1.)

All you whiny Michigan fans can come in here making excuses about they lost all those seniors, and they are playing a bunch of freshman, and they are adjusting to a new coach, and blah blah frieking blah. This preview is not a 5-year projection for Penn State and Michigan. It is a preview and prediction for this weekend, in Happy Valley, against a Penn State team that is actually playing competent football. Do you really think that Steven Threet and Sam McGuffie can go into a Happy Valley blackout and compete with Penn State?

Nine straight victories might suggest using caution. However, eyes that watched the games and seen these two teams play wonder if the Big Ten conference should just invoke a mercy rule and not subject the proud Michigan program to the beatdown that awaits them in Happy Valley on Saturday. Penn State’s top two running backs, Even Royster and Stephfon Green (the name is spelled correctly, don’t worry), come into the game averaging better than six yards per carry each. And how about their offensive balance? Penn State averages 488 yards per game, 235 on the ground and 253 through the air. What do you take away? Umm…you take away any chance that Michigan might have of getting their third win of the season.

Joe Paterno has proven throughout his coaching career that when fans and the media doubt him, he has an uncanny ability to rise to the occasion. He stands behind his players, perhaps to a fault sometimes; but I have to think that the trust he builds with each individual player also compels them to take it up a notch when their coach is taking a beating in terms of the opinions outside the Penn State locker room.

This offseason was filled with turmoil for Joe Paterno and the Penn State Nittany Lions. So far, the season on the field has been filled with nothing but good old fashioned butt whoopings administered by a Nittany Lions team that appears poised to knock Ohio State from their perch as owners of the Big Ten penthouse.

While I am officially guaranteeing a Penn State victory over Michigan this weekend (suck it Rodriguez), I’m not ready to anoint Penn State the 2008 Big Ten champs just yet. They still have to travel to Columbus next weekend to take on an Ohio State team that is still very good but flying under the radar after the ass kicking by USC. Obviously, the winner of that game controls their own destiny for the remainder of the season.

I have to say, as a college football fan who grew up in Big Ten country, I am happy to see Joe Paterno finding success in the twilight of his career. I don’t know enough about the off-field issues to pass judgment on them, but I do know that Joe Paterno has given his life to college athletics and to grooming young men at Penn State University. I firmly believe that no one explicitly “deserves” anything on an athletic field — you go out and earn it. However, Joe Paterno certainly deserves the success that his Nittany Lions are earning on the field this Fall.

And on Saturday against Michigan, that success will all be contained in one very concise statement leading to the showdown at the Horseshoe: 8-0

Yes indeed, the Nittany Phoenix has risen again.

[tags]joe paterno, penn state nittany lions, college football, michigan wolverines[/tags]

Tags: Big Ten, College Football, Joe Paterno, Michigan Wolverines, penn state nittany lions

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