Nittany Lions trying to restore the roar

It has been 18 years since a No. 1 team visited Happy Valley, so it’s easy to understand the hype in State College, Pa., as No. 24 Penn State prepares for tonight’s game against top-ranked Ohio State.

Students have been camped out for seats since Tuesday, “Beat Ohio State” T-shirts have popped up in storefronts and the student section plans a “whiteout” -- 21,000 fans wearing white T-shirts in one end zone in an effort to distract the Buckeyes.

Even 80-year-old coach Joe Paterno has a little extra spring in his step.

“If you can’t get excited about that, then I think maybe you get out of it,” said Paterno, who is in his 42nd season as head coach. “It’s a big game for where we’re going to go with this football team.”

It’s Linebacker U vs. Linebacker U, with two of the country’s best middle linebackers, Penn State’s Dan Connor and Ohio State’s James Laurinaitis, matching skills in what may well turn into a good ol’ Big Ten defensive slugfest.

Ohio State is looking for respect. Critics have suggested the Buckeyes’ ranking is the result of an easy schedule rather than because of a defense that has given up only four touchdowns.

“It’s become more motivating to us because a lot of people think we don’t deserve the spot,” cornerback Malcolm Jenkins said. “That’s just another thing we can put on our bulletin board and get fired up for. It’s been quite a motivation for us.”

Penn State fans employed the “whiteout” two years ago when Ohio State visited and the Nittany Lions won. That was Ohio State’s last regular-season loss.

“Nobody had seen that, or at least I hadn’t, so it was pretty distracting at the beginning of the game,” Jenkins told the Columbus Dispatch. “But I think we’ve seen so many different-colored ‘outs’ since then, I don’t think it will affect us that much this year.”

Kansas? Already?

Texas A&M; tight end Martellus Bennett doesn’t find it strange that Kansas is up to No. 12, he just didn’t realize it would be these Jayhawks.

When asked if he expected Kansas to be ranked this high in late October, he smiled and said, “In basketball.”

But the Jayhawks -- the football team -- are one of only five unbeaten major college teams, and they’ve quieted critics with road victories over Kansas State and Colorado.

Kansas leads the Big 12 Conference and ranks among the top 10 nationally in scoring offense (46 points a game), scoring defense (10 a game) and total defense (256 yards a game).

A victory today and Kansas would be 8-0 for the first time since 1909.

“I think the excitement level is definitely rising around town,” quarterback Todd Reesing said. “People are really starting to understand how special this team is and the chance we have to be really good.”

In a rush

Two of the nation’s top running backs will go against one another today when Steve Slaton leads No. 6 West Virginia against Ray Rice and No. 25 Rutgers.

But if things had gone a little differently three years ago, they might have been playing on the same team.

“We recruited Steve Slaton,” Rutgers Coach Greg Schiano said. “Obviously, it was not well enough.”

Slaton went to high school in Levittown, Pa., 35 miles from Rutgers. Last season, he was third in the nation with 1,744 yards rushing and Rice was second with 1,794. Rice has 999 this season and Slaton has 752.

Exhibits I and I-AA

Michigan and Minnesota have more in common than the first letter of their school name and their Big Ten Conference affiliation. Both have lost to Football Championship Subdivision -- formerly known as I-AA -- teams this year.

Michigan lost to Appalachian State in an opener and Minnesota lost against North Dakota State last week.

Michigan has rebounded and is now ranked No. 19 and tied for first in the Big Ten; Minnesota’s loss last week was only the latest in a string for the Golden Gophers (1-7).

Still, the Wolverines (6-2) say they are not looking past this opponent.

“I think we learned early in the season not to take any team for granted,” guard Steve Schilling said.

Cavalier attitude

A glance at the Atlantic Coast Conference shows that Virginia is 7-1, but a glance at their game summaries reveals just how thin a line there is between 7-1 and 3-4.

The Cavaliers defeated North Carolina because of a 48-yard field goal that was initially ruled no good before replays correctly overturned the call.

They beat Middle Tennessee on a field goal with eight seconds left, then beat Connecticut on a field goal with about three minutes to play.

Last week, they beat Maryland on a touchdown with 16 seconds left.

Four of their wins have come by a total of six points.

“That’s a skill that certain teams have,” Coach Al Groh said.

“It’s like anything that happens repetitively after a while; it’s not just an accident.”

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-- Compiled by Peter Yoon