Paterno's record on line vs. Purdue
By Rob Riva
Daily Collegian
(U-WIRE) UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Every Penn State football fan remembers where they were on Oct. 27, 2001.
It might as well be a national holiday for the Nittany Lion faithful.
That was the day Joe Paterno passed Alabama's Paul "Bear" Bryant as the winningest coach in Division I-A college football history, and further laid the groundwork for his iconic legacy.
But what many Penn State fans seemed to have forgotten among the frustration and disappointment of the 2003 season from that chilly fall Saturday at Beaver Stadium when the Lions upset rival Ohio State to move Paterno past the Bear, is how fragile the winningest coach status actually is.
Now that record is at stake as Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden lingers dangerously close to tying Paterno for career wins.
Paterno has 338 victories. Bowden trails by one with 337.
A loss for the Lions on Saturday and a win for the Seminoles against Miami would mean the two mainstays of collegiate football coaching are tied, a feat many thought would never happen.
"Is [Bowden] creeping up on me? That sneaky little son of a gun," Paterno joked earlier this season. "He is not supposed to sneak up on me. He is supposed to run right by me. Bobby is a great guy and a good friend. What happens, happens. I can't worry about that. I am not in it for records. If it happens, I am glad it happens to a guy that I like and admire."
Paterno's humility remains outweighed by other external factors.
In a season that hasn't started out the way any Penn State fan wanted, while other non-perennial college football programs bask in the top 25, Paterno's sole possession of the record is a little something for the faithful to hold on to in a time of crisis. It is one of few things to reflect on that doesn't bring about the agonizing thoughts of recent losing seasons and holidays spent at home, not traveling to bowl games.
The players, who are already concerned with somehow staying in the Big Ten race, also have to deal with their own role in Paterno's legacy.
"I think we really don't talk about it that much," quarterback Michael Robinson said. "But in the back of everybody's mind, it is there. It has to be. It's definitely got to be on the back of your mind. Joe is a great coach and he's been here a long time. We want him to be on top and we don't want to take responsibility for him losing the record."
Robinson isn't the only one. Others on the roster feel a burden to garner some wins in order to keep Paterno's name at the top of the wins list preserved.
"[Paterno] has had such great teams. I don't want to be part of the team that puts him down," tight end Matt Kranchick said. "I don't want to be an asterisk next to his record; that would be horrible. We don't have to worry about Paterno though, we just have to worry about winning games for the team."
This is the problem. As the Lions continue to tread through the remaining games of the 2003 season, the various needs of the team become prioritized.
At what point does maintaining Paterno's record become a burden?
While Paterno's record should be in the back of their minds, as Robinson said, it can't be the main focus for the rest of the season.
As long as the team makes its No. 1 priority to just go out and win, the risk of Paterno falling behind Bowden won't be an issue at all. A win is a win, and chalking up the victories will not only keep Penn State in the hunt for a bowl game, but Paterno will remain the record holder.
Senior cornerback Richard Gardner furthered this concept.
According to Gardner, the need to finish off the rest of the season strong supercedes the thought of Bowden passing Paterno. However, the necessity of reestablishing the Nittany Lions as a college football powerhouse is the top priority.
"It's not an issue at all," Gardner said. "We're just trying to get the program back where we can say we were the class of 2003-2004 and we helped Penn State become the team that's always been here. We're just trying to bring the tradition back. Joe Paterno has been there before. He's a little disappointed that we're not winning but then again, he is disappointed that we're not experiencing the tradition that was so familiar at Penn State. We're looking within ourselves and are trying to get the program back to where it once was."
© 2002 Daily Collegian via U-WIRE
