Paterno Resumes Chase of Win No. 323

Penn State Coach Joe Paterno is looking for victory No. 323. Miami counterpart Larry Coker is looking for victory No. 1.

A Nittany Lion victory would tie Paterno with former Alabama Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant for most victories by a Division I-A football coach.

A loss would dent Coker’s hopes of leading the No. 2-ranked Hurricanes to the national title game, which Miami barely missed last season.

“I hope [Paterno] gets that record, I hope he does,” Coker said, “but I hope he waits a week or two.”

It will be an emotional game for Penn State. Not only will the Nittany Lions be playing their first game in renovated Beaver Stadium, which now seats 106,537, they will be led onto the field by Adam Taliaferro, who was paralyzed in a game last year against Ohio State. Taliaferro has since regained use of his legs.

But there’s little talk of the record at Penn State.

“There isn’t anyone in this organization that even thinks about it,” Paterno said. “If it happens, it happens. And if it happens, it will be great and we’ll all have fun and then walk away from it.”

Said defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy: “It’s hard to talk about it because you never hear Joe talking about it at all. Not once this year or all of last year did he come out and say, ‘You’ve got to win this one so I can get the record.’ ”

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Oregon might have its best team in 107 years of playing football, yet all the hype surrounding the No. 7 Ducks has conveniently overlooked a glaring weakness: their inexperienced defensive front seven.

Only one starter--inside linebacker Seth McEwen--is back from last season’s 10-2 team. That could give No. 22 Wisconsin and its powerful running game an edge when the teams play today.

“My concern is, are we going to stay on the line of scrimmage when they try to pound it from tackle to tackle?” Duck Coach Mike Bellotti said.

The game is at Autzen Stadium, where Oregon has won 20 games in a row, but Wisconsin has the advantage of starting a week early and beating Virginia, 26-17.

Backup quarterback Jim Sorgi, a sophomore, is expected to make his second career start for Wisconsin because Brooks Bollinger suffered a bruised liver on a scramble late in the first half against Virginia. Bollinger spent two days in the hospital, but he practiced this week.

“To me, Jim’s just like a starter, just like Brooks is,” Wisconsin Coach Barry Alvarez said.