Paterno Is Now Joe Average

Joe Paterno blows a fuse.

Penn State squanders a game.

These are strange days in not-so-Happy Valley, where there are whispers that “JoePa” has lost his edge and the Nittany Lions might be better off with a younger coach.

Paterno, 76, spent his 600th game on a Penn State sideline Saturday, his 444th as head coach, and the results were pretty much as they have been during the Lions’ long, slow slide into mediocrity.

The Lions had a chance to score the go-ahead touchdown at the end of the half, but an incomplete pass was ruled an interception. They had a chance to score the winning touchdown at the end of the game, but a fourth-down pass went halfway to Latrobe.

Final score: Minnesota 20, Penn State 14.

Standings: Minnesota 5-0, 1-0 in conference play, Penn State 2-3, 0-1.

No wonder Paterno went ballistic near halftime, charging onto the field after the officials to argue the interception should have been ruled an incomplete pass. TV replays indicated Paterno had a right to be miffed, but this was the second time in two seasons he has bolted from the sidelines to yell at the zebras.

Last season, after a loss against Iowa, he grabbed an official by the shoulder, twirling him around to protest a call. After another call went against Penn State in an overtime loss against Michigan, Paterno called for a review of Big Ten officiating.

Saturday, he toned down his postgame remarks.

“I couldn’t tell if it hit the ground or not,” he said when asked about confronting the official after it was ruled that Terrance Campbell had intercepted the pass. “Everyone on our sideline thought it hit the ground and was not an interception. I said [to the official], ‘It bounced,’ and he said, ‘We don’t think so.’ ”

Penn State trailed, 17-14, after Paterno’s outburst. The Lions trailed by the same margin late in the game, when Rhys Lloyd kicked a 30-yard field goal for the Golden Gophers. The Lions drove to the Minnesota 15 with 25 seconds remaining, but backup quarterback Michael Robinson misfired on a fourth-down pass.

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Go, Go Gophers

Minnesota was No. 24 going into Saturday’s victory and taking heat for its lackluster nonconference schedule, which featured Tulsa, Troy State, Ohio University and Louisiana Lafayette.

Defeating Penn State will do a lot for the Gophers’ credibility in the rankings, but perhaps not as much as they would like. After all, next week’s game against Michigan at Minneapolis had to be moved from Saturday to Friday to accommodate a Minnesota Twins’ American League playoff game.

And if there had been a monster truck show booked for Friday night at the Metrodome, you get the feeling the Gophers would have had to play on Thursday afternoon.

Jokes aside, and Minnesota football has been nothing but for the better part of a generation, these Gophers can play. Best of all, they can run with the football. Coach Glen Mason has perhaps the most talented backfield in the conference, including Marion Barber III, who ran for 134 yards and a touchdown against Penn State.

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Meanwhile in Columbus ...

Ohio State frets ceaselessly about its running game, what with Maurice Clarett suspended for the season but attending classes while pursuing a lawsuit against the NFL that could make him eligible for next year’s draft. Under league rules, he must be at least three seasons removed from his high school graduation to be drafted.

With Clarett sidelined, the Buckeyes gained 125 yards during a 20-0 victory over Northwestern, which was below their season average of 128 yards. And to think, Northwestern had given up 286 yards to Duke and 248 to Kansas.

What’s more, Ohio State said Saturday it would wait until the spring to ask the NCAA to reinstate Clarett, who was suspended for receiving improper benefits and lying to investigators.

“I think we want to see the fall and winter quarters, to see how things go,” said Andy Geiger, Ohio State athletic director. “He will not return this season. We’re not ruling out spring quarter, but fall season he will not be a part of. We’ll see how fall and winter go.”

According to Geiger, Clarett made it to one class when the quarter began Thursday, but gave up on other classes because he was tailed by TV camera crews.

“He didn’t want to run the gauntlet between I don’t know how many television cameras. He gave up in disgust,” Geiger said.

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Don’t Blame the SI Jinx

A week after upsetting Michigan, Oregon’s magazine cover boys were no-shows for their showdown against Washington State. How else to explain the 55-16 thumping the No. 10 Ducks took from the No. 21 Cougars?

“We were still thinking about the Michigan game and I really don’t think we were fired up,” Oregon receiver Sammie Parker said. “Everyone is usually fired up in the locker room, but we were really quiet today. We were just kind of waltzing around and I don’t think we were ready to play.”

Enough said.

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The Border War

Kansas thumped No. 23 Missouri, 35-14, then declined to whoop it up with Jayhawk fans, who tore down the goalposts after the 112th game involving the schools. A year ago, Missouri players joined their fans in tearing down the goalposts after the Tigers’ 36-12 victory at Columbia, Mo.

Kansas coaches pasted photos of the Tigers’ celebration on each Jayhawk’s locker stall, providing additional motivation for the oldest rivalry west of the Mississippi River.

“We felt like it would be more classy if we just let our fans take care of that,” Kansas quarterback Bill Whittemore said when asked about skipping the postgame mob scene.

“We thought what they did last year was disrespectful,” added Clark Green, who rushed for two touchdowns.

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Gritty Little Gators?

There were two ways to look at No. 25 Florida’s 24-21 come-from-behind victory over Kentucky.

In your basic glass-is-half-full analysis, the Gators, with freshman quarterback Chris Leak making his first start, rallied smartly from an 18-point deficit to win against the plucky Wildcats to keep alive their hopes for a New Year’s Day bowl game.

And there’s also this way: The Gators were forced to rally late to beat a Southeastern Conference punching bag it has defeated 17 consecutive times.

Let’s give Florida Coach Ron Zook the last word on the Gators (3-2).

“As I told our football team, I’d rather not make it like that,” Zook said. “We learned an awful lot today, though. Once again, we’ve said we’re a team that’s going to get better each game, and I think we’ll continue to get better.”

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No Hard Feelings

Air Force ended a 21-year losing streak at Brigham Young with a 24-10 victory, then got an earful from Cougar fans after scoring a late touchdown. With his ears still ringing after a one-yard run with two seconds left, Air Force Coach Fisher DeBerry defended the call.

“I wasn’t trying to run it up, if that’s what you mean,” he said. “I felt the safest thing for us to do by goodness was to try to get it in there. By gosh, nobody needs to call me the things I was called. Maybe I need to be a little bit tougher. I didn’t appreciate that.”

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Winless in Seattle

Stanford’s 28-17 loss to No. 18 Washington was no surprise. After all, the Cardinal hasn’t won at Husky Stadium since 1975 and has two victories in 22 games overall against the Huskies since 1976.

Stanford showed why it has lost 11 in a row at Seattle in the game’s final minutes, when Washington’s Derrick Johnson intercepted freshman quarterback Trent Edwards’ pass and returned it 36 yards for a backbreaking touchdown.

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Legal Briefing

The Big East, soon to be abandoned by Miami and Virginia Tech, has gone to court to keep its marquee schools from leaving for the Atlantic Coast Conference. A Connecticut judge will hear arguments Monday from lawyers from Miami and the ACC, who hope to have the case thrown out.

“We are as adamant as ever that both Miami and the ACC broke the law and violated their responsibilities to the four schools that are suing,” said Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut attorney general.

Connecticut, Pittsburgh, Rutgers and West Virginia hope to recover expected losses in ticket revenue and broadcasting rights fees, as well as lowered recruiting power and damaged relationships with boosters.

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Times wire services contributed to this report.