Rose Bowl focus on Paterno

PASADENA, Calif. - All the fuss is starting to bug Joe Paterno. Still recovering from hip surgery, the 82-year-old Penn State coach plans to run his team from the press box Thursday when the No. 6 Nittany Lions face No. 5 Southern California in the 95th Rose Bowl.

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Paterno had hoped to coach from the sideline, but he realized it’s not the prudent way to go.

“I wish we’d all get off this fact of where I’m going to be,” he said Wednesday at the final Rose Bowl news conference. “These kids, it’s one time in their lifetime for so many of them, and I hate like the dickens for everybody to be worried about where Paterno is going to be.

“It’s the players that we ought to be talking about, not where I’m going to be, for crying out loud. Who knows what’s going to happen by Thursday? I might decide to take a boat to Italy.”

Don’t count on it. Despite his advancing age and inability to move around as well as he might like, Paterno made it clear that he’s in command of his team.

“I think we’re ready,” he said. “We ended up yesterday with about 50 minutes making sure everyone knew where they were supposed to line up. We’re looking forward to a good football game.”

As far as coaching in the press box, Paterno said it was the best for all concerned.

“I don’t think I can handle 3 1/2, four hours on the sideline,” he said. “I think everybody will be worried about somebody bumping me. And the staff has been so good and all those guys know me, and they know how to operate without me. I’ll be upstairs.”

Tongue in cheek, Paterno said he consulted USC coach Pete Carroll.

“I said, 'I think I’m probably going to go upstairs, but if you would agree not to throw the ball more than 15, 18 times, we can get that game over in less than three hours, I might be on the sideline,’” Paterno said. “Pete said to me, 'If I see you on the sideline, we’re going to throw it 50 times.’ ”

Paterno coached the final seven games of the season from various press boxes and underwent surgery Nov. 23, the day after the Nittany Lions beat No. 19 Michigan State 49-18 to clinch their Rose Bowl berth.

Since becoming the Penn State coach in 1966, Paterno’s teams have a 383-126-3 record and a 23-10-1 mark in bowl games. The 383 wins and 23 bowl victories are the most ever.

Carroll doesn’t have nearly the longevity, but his teams have certainly made their mark since he arrived in 2001 to take over a program that had turned mediocre.

The Trojans went 6-6 in Carroll’s first season. Since then, they’ve gone 81-9 while winning a record seven straight Pac-10 championships. The Rose Bowl will be their seventh consecutive BCS bowl — another record.

They’ve won five of the previous six, with the only blemish a 41-38 loss to Texas three years ago in the national title game.

USC entered the season ranked No. 1 and stayed there until being upset 27-21 by Oregon State on Sept. 25. The loss kept the Trojans from playing for the national championship.

Penn State can relate, having an inside track to the title game before losing at Iowa 24-23 on a last-second 31-yard field goal.

The Trojans will be playing in the Rose Bowl for a record 33rd time and for the fourth straight year, the Nittany Lions for the first time in 14 years and third time overall.

“I’m not going to hang my feelings about our work and our body of work during the course of a season on what the poll turns out, and I know coach Paterno feels the same way,” Carroll said.

Paterno insists this game is no consolation.

“I think it’s just a great thing to be here and to play a team the caliber of Southern Cal. I’m not trying to blow smoke. I think Southern Cal is as good as any football team in the country,” he said.

Both teams appear good enough to win on many fronts. Penn State is averaging 40.2 points, while USC averages 37.5. The Trojans have allowed an NCAA-leading 7.8 points a game, and the Nittany Lions aren’t far behind at 12.4.

Penn State’s Daryll Clark has completed 60 percent of his passes for 2,319 yards and 17 touchdowns with only four interceptions, and tailback Evan Royster has rushed for 1,202 yards, averaging 6.5 yards a carry.

For USC, Mark Sanchez has completed 64 percent of his passes for 2,794 yards and 30 touchdowns with 11 interceptions, and Joe McKnight, Stafon Johnson and C.J. Gable have combined to rush for 1,892 yards and 19 touchdowns.

Rose Bowl
USC vs. Penn State
When: 3 p.m. today
Where: Pasadena, Calif.
TV: Channel 15