Paterno Draws on Instinct, Penn State Pulls Away : Citrus: Touchdowns at end of first half and start of second prove too much for Tennessee as Nittany Lions win, 31-13. Dropped passes hurt Shuler.

You can forget all the talk that Tennessee might be playing the best college football in the country right now. And you can forget all the talk that Penn State quarterback Kerry Collins was no match for Tennessee wunderkind Heath Shuler.

But you should remember that the venerable Joe Paterno, still boring after all these years, is a pretty good football coach.

The seeming mismatch that was the CompUSA Florida Citrus Bowl between Tennessee and Penn State Saturday afternoon was indeed that. But few had it figured to be lopsided in the Nittany Lions’ favor.

After the fifth-ranked Volunteers grabbed a quick 10-0 lead, Penn State, ranked 13th but moving on up, took control and rolled to a 31-13 victory. It was Paterno’s 15th bowl victory, tying the mark of Paul (Bear) Bryant of Alabama.

Penn State (10-2) was clearly better prepared than Tennessee (9-2-1) and the Nittany Lions even used the first-down pass on seven occasions. The game left the mostly orange-clad crowd of 72,456 sitting silently, hoping to hear another chorus of their school song “Rocky Top.”

“We made some small adjustments to our defense and offense, but generally we played the same game we played all year,” Paterno said. “I never felt we were an underdog and it rankled some of our kids to be 10-point underdogs. We never thought Tennessee was better than us.”

In short, Penn State won the game with 11 seconds to play in the first half. On second down and 10 and the ball at the Tennessee 14, Collins went to the bench for instructions. There was enough time for one play, maybe two if there was an incompletion.

Penn State called a draw up the middle to Ki-Jana Carter. With the Tennessee defense expecting a pass, Carter was virtually untouched as he scored the first of his two touchdowns. The extra point gave Penn State a 17-13 lead.

“When Joe gave me the call, I looked at him and said, ‘Are you sure?’ ” Collins said. “He just looked at me and said, ‘Yup.’ I have a feeling that broke their back.”

Paterno remembered it this way: “The offensive coaches called the play. They develop the game plan, I stick in my comments, take credit for the good calls and chew them out for the bad ones.”

The play-calling resulted in Collins completing 15 of 24 passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns. The two touchdowns came in the second half, one for seven yards to Kyle Brady in the third quarter and a 15-yarder to Bobby Engram early in the fourth.

Engram was the game’s leading receiver with seven catches for 107 yards. He was also voted the game’s most valuable player.

“I tried not to get into the fact that it was Heath Shuler on the other side of the ball,” Collins said. “I had to do my own thing. . . . All I heard was Tennessee this and Tennessee that all week. People saying that if maybe there was a miracle, we might pull it out. It was ridiculous.”

Penn State took control when it took the second-half kickoff, went 60 yards in 11 plays, and scored on Brady’s seven-yard reception.

“Penn State’s touchdown right before the half and the score right after the half were big factors in the outcome of the game,” Tennessee Coach Phillip Fulmer said.

Shuler completed 22 of 42 passes for 205 yards and one touchdown, a 19-yard pass to Cory Fleming in the first quarter. He was also the victim of several dropped balls.

“It was uncharacteristic for us to drop passes,” Fulmer said. “Heath threw well, but dropped balls and penalties caused us to stay in trouble. Penn State caused us to do that.”

Shuler agreed. “It was one of my best games as far as being on top of things,” he said. “But we just didn’t catch well. But I can’t get down on my teammates. There have been times when I wasn’t doing well and they carried me.”

Shuler has contemplated giving up his senior year at Tennessee and making himself available for the NFL draft. He plans to announce his decision on Jan. 9, the day before players have to declare themselves eligible. If he stays, he’ll be the early favorite for the Heisman Trophy, having finished second in balloting this season.

After the game, he wouldn’t hint at which way he was leaning.

“The road is forked and I have to decide which way to go,” Shuler said. “Normally, a road goes right and it goes left. By my road has two rights. I can’t make a bad decision.”

Those close to the Tennessee program expect him to leave now and avoid being taken by one of the expansion teams--Jacksonville and Charlotte--next year.

The teams most likely to take him, providing probable top pick Cincinnati doesn’t trade down, are Washington and the Rams, both in need of quarterback help. Scouts from Washington, Tampa Bay, the New York Giants and New York Jets were in attendance Saturday. Presumably, Ram scouts watched on television.

Tennessee might also have had a better time watching television.

Bowl Victories

With the Citrus Bowl victory over Tennessee, Penn State Coach Joe Paterno tied Bear Bryant for the all-time lead in bowl victories. A look at the leaders:

Coach W L T Joe Paterno 15 8 1 Bear Bryant 15 12 2 Bobby Bowden 13 3 1 Don James 10 5 0 Lou Holtz 10 6 2 John Vaught 10 8 0 Bobby Dodd 9 4 0 Johnny Majors 9 7 0 Terry Donahue 8 3 1 Barry Switzer 8 5 0 Darrell Royal 8 7 1 Vince Dooley 8 10 2 Tom Osborne 8 13 0