Saturday, October 27, 2001
Paterno milestone won't distract Buckeyes
By Jon Spencer
The Mansfield (Ohio) News Journal
COLUMBUS — In a friendship that has spanned a quarter-century, Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel apparently has gotten to know Penn State counterpart Joe Paterno well.
“I'm sure this entire week he's downplaying the importance of any record he might set and talking mainly about what this week means to Penn State versus Ohio State,” Tressel said.
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OHIO ST. at PENN ST.
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• Kickoff: 12:10p.m. today, Beaver Stadium (106,537), University Park, Pa.
• Records: Ohio State 4-2 (2-1 Big Ten), Penn State 1-4 (1-3).
• TV: ESPN.
• Radio: WPFB-AM (910).
• Series: Penn State leads 9-7 (last: 2000, OSU 45-6).
• Line: OSU by 6 1/2.
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Tressel was right. A victory today at home by the Nittany Lions (1-4) over the Buckeyes (4-2) would be win No.324 for Paterno and make him the career leader among Division I-A coaches, but the only time he broached the subject with his team was Monday.
That's the only time he mentioned the milestone to his players all season.
“I told them there's probably going to be a lot of talk about this and that, and I said there's only one thing we want to do,” Paterno said. “We want to focus on a good Ohio State team and see if we can get a little momentum going, and I said, "Don't let anybody distract us.'”
Even if the Lions do pull an upset, Paterno doesn't want to ride off the field on his players' shoulders.
“That's the worst trip in the world,” said Paterno, who knows, having won two national championships at the school. “I'm not quite sure if they're going to drop me or not.”
Tressel would prefer to see the Lions carried off on their shields, even though an OSU victory might nudge the 74-year-old Paterno — a man Tressel reveres — closer to the exit.
“There are no mixed emotions,” Tressel said. “Ohio State is the most important thing to me.”
Nor will Tressel's players get caught up thinking about the football icon standing on the opposing sideline.
Said offensive tackle Tyson Walter: “(Paterno's) a legend, obviously. You don't have to tell anybody that. I hope one day he breaks the record, but I hope it doesn't happen against us.”
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Paterno milestone won't distract Buckeyes
