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Joepa On Subdued `bear’ Hunt Defeating Ohio St., Not Career Coaching Mark, Is The Focus For Paterno.

W.Johnson3 months ago

By JERRY KELLAR [email protected]
Saturday, October 27, 2001 Page: 1B

Maybe on another day, in some other year, Joe Paterno will sit back and fully
appreciate what he has accomplished in the game of football.

Just not now.
There is too much left to be done to waste time worrying about records, no
matter how special.

With Penn State’s next victory, the 74-year-old coach will become Division
I-A’s all-time most winning coach, moving ahead of the late Paul “Bear”
Bryant, the University of Alabama legend who finished his career with 323
victories.

That milestone could come today, when the Nittany Lions play host to Ohio
State at Beaver Stadium (12:10 p.m., ESPN).

“He was a great competitor,” Paterno said of Bryant. “He had a great
presence about himself and he was a heck of a football coach. He was great
with people ... a great motivator.

“Bryant had it all. He was in a class by himself. There are four or five
guys that I have seen coaching in college that I think are in a class by
themselves. A guy that nobody ever mentions is Ara Parseghian (Notre Dame).
Bud Wilkinson (Oklahoma) would be a third. Frank Leahy (also Notre Dame), I
didn’t coach against or see much of. They are all heads and shoulders above
the rest of us.”

Paterno is always more comfortable discussing his associates in the game
than he is bragging about himself. And he steadfastly refuses to use the
pursuit of the record as motivation for his squad.

All you need do is ask his players.

“The only time it’s brought up is when you guys (in the media) bring it
up,” said tailback Eric McCoo. “I have not heard him mention the record
other than to promise us that it would not be a distraction. And it hasn’t.”

Quarterback Zack Mills said, “He’s not going to say anything about it, but
I’m sure it will be special to us.”

As it will for Paterno, whenever that day comes.

He seems almost embarrassed to be included in the same company with Bryant,
whose enormous shadow has followed Paterno everywhere he goes.

Penn State’s poor on-field performance the past two seasons hasn’t helped,
either, as the coach’s critics readily accuse him of staying in the game
simply for personal achievement.

“It doesn’t matter what people outside this team say,” McCoo said,
“because those people don’t know anything about coach or about this team.”

“He (Paterno) took a lot of criticism along with the rest of the team,”
said linebacker Shamar Finney. “He hasn’t been selfish about it. He just
wants the best for his players.”

Paterno said it would be foolish for him to say he doesn’t care about the
record. Doing that, he says, would disrespect Bryant, the game, and his Penn
State family.

He just wants to keep things in perspective.

“I think to win the game whenever it happens is great for Penn State. It
is great for Penn State football. That is fine,” Paterno said. “As far as
any ego trip, if tomorrow the doctor says, `You have to give up football,’ I’d
give it up. It really wouldn’t bother me.

“I can only say it so many times and try to say it as sincerely as I can
that that is the last thing I want to be thinking about this week. We have to
focus in on a good Ohio State football team.

“These are two good, tough football teams and let’s get it done and forget
about all of the other stuff that goes with it.”

AP PHOTO

The smile on the face of Penn State coach Joe Paterno could get bigger
today if the Nittany Lions knock off Ohio State to improve their record to



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