Paterno Conquers the Bear

Joe Paterno spent the last three months saying his chase for the major college victory record was no big deal. Now that he’s got it, he’s changing his tune.

“You never think it’s going to be a big deal until it happens like this, with this many people,” Paterno said Saturday after his Nittany Lions rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat Ohio State, 29-27. “It’s just hard to describe. But I’m a very, very lucky guy to be at an institution such as Penn State with all these fans.”

The win was No. 324 for Paterno, who passed Bear Bryant for the record. Paterno has spent his entire coaching career at Penn State, serving as an assistant for 15 years before becoming head coach in 1966.

Paterno came into the season one win behind Bryant but was questioned and criticized--even by some of the Penn State faithful--after his team started 0-4. He tied Bryant last week with a 38-35 victory at Northwestern.

Ohio State Coach Jim Tressel said a brief congratulations to Paterno, then quickly went to his locker room.

“I have respect for his tremendous career, but that moment was for him and his team,” Tressel said.

After the game, in the understated style Penn State fans have come to expect, Paterno praised his team, hugged his wife and held his grandchildren at a ceremony at midfield.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of this football team,” Paterno told the crowd. “They could have packed it in a long time ago. But they came back last week, and they came back today, and I tell you they’re going to be one hell of a football team.”

The game solidified freshman Zack Mills’ spot as Penn State’s top quarterback. Mills, who came in on the Nittany Lions’ second possession after Matt Senneca started, threw two touchdowns and broke his own freshman passing record with 280 yards. He completed 17 of 32 passes and also ran for 138 yards and a touchdown.

The Nittany Lions, 2-4 overall and 2-3 in the Big Ten Conference, took their first lead two plays into the fourth quarter. On the first play, Mills missed the snap from the shotgun formation, ran back several yards to recover the ball and completed a 31-yard pass to R.J. Luke.

Mills’ 14-yard touchdown pass to Eric McCoo gave Penn State a 29-27 lead with 14:47 left.

Ohio State (4-3, 2-2) got to the Penn State 17 with 2:55 left, but Bryan Scott blocked the field goal try.

Mills’ first touchdown pass came in the third quarter when he found Tony Johnson from 26 yards out.

But the freshman’s biggest play might have come earlier in the third, when he took a quarterback keeper, leaped over a blocker, bounced off a defender and ran 69 yards for a touchdown. It was the longest Penn State run in more than two years and the longest by a quarterback since 1991. The two-point conversion failed, leaving Ohio State with a 27-15 lead.

“Obviously that long run they had by the quarterback was the burst that gave them the confidence,” Tressel said.

The Buckeyes took their biggest lead, 27-9, on Derek Ross’ interception return.

The pass skipped high off a receiver’s hands and right to Ross, who caught it in stride and ran untouched into the end zone.

Ohio State went up 20-9 two plays into the second half when Jonathan Wells found a huge hole in the line, slipped one tackle and outran the Penn State secondary for a 65-yard play.

Steve Bellisari threw a 68-yard pass to Michael Jenkins, giving Ohio State first-and-goal on the one and setting up the final score of the first half.

But Penn State’s defense held, forcing the Buckeyes to kick a field goal. Mike Nugent’s kick gave Ohio State a 13-9 lead going into halftime.

All of Penn State’s first-half points came on field goals, with freshman Robbie Gould scoring twice from 46 yards--the longest of his career--and once from 23.

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He’s No. 1

Penn State’s Joe Paterno became the winningest NCAA Division I coach Saturday:

JOE PATERNO’S MILESTONE VICTORIES

No. Date Score

1 Sept. 17,

1966 Penn State 17,

Maryland 5

24 Jan. 1,

1969 Penn State 15, Kansas 14

(First unbeaten season)

35 Jan. 1,

1970 Penn State 10, Missouri 3

(Second unbeaten season)

75 Jan. 1,

1974 Penn State 16, LSU 9

(Third unbeatenseason)

100 Nov. 6, 1976 Penn State 41,

N.C. State 20

162 Jan. 1,

1983 Penn State 27, Georgia 23

(First national title)

199 Jan. 2,

1987 Penn State 14, Miami 10

(Fourth unbeaten record, second national title)

200 Sept. 5,

1987 Penn State 45,

Bowling Green 19

269 Jan. 2,

1995 Penn State 38,

Oregon 20

(Fifth unbeaten season)

300 Sept. 12,

1998 Penn State 48,

Bowling Green 3

323 Oct. 20,

2001 Penn State 38,

Northwestern 35

(Ties Bryant’s Division I coaching victory record)

324 Oct. 27,

2001 Penn State 29,

Ohio State 27

(Breaks Bryant’s record)