East Roundup: Paterno Ties Record as Penn State Defeats Northwestern

Silas Redd ran for 164 yards and a touchdown, Matt McGloin threw for 192 yards and 2 scores, and Penn State clamped down in the second half to give Paterno another milestone victory.

Paterno will try to move ahead of Robinson, of Grambling, for the Division I record next weekend when the Nittany Lions (7-1, 4-0 Big Ten) host Illinois. But he is still far behind John Gagliardi of St. John’s of Minnesota in Division III, who has 481 wins and counting.

Paterno, 84, is in his 46th season leading the Nittany Lions. In Evanston, Ill., on Saturday, he coached from the press box again. He is recovering from injuries to his right shoulder and pelvis sustained after a receiver ran into him in practice on Aug. 7.

Paterno had been feeling better and had been on the sideline for parts of some games, but on Oct. 8, during a 13-3 win over Iowa, two of his players pulled him back to avoid another collision.

That left him sore, he said, and he expressed concern that he might be a distraction to his players on the sideline.

Tying the record against Northwestern (2-5, 0-4) was fitting. When Paterno tied Bear Bryant with 323 wins, he did it against the Wildcats. No. 400 came at their expense, too, last season when Penn State rallied from 21 behind to win, 35-21.

This time, Penn State led, 27-24, at halftime, after Stephfon Green scored on a 1-yard run with six seconds left in the second quarter.

Redd made it a 10-point game early in the third when he ran it in from the 19 after Gerald Hodges returned an interception 63 yards.

VANDERBILT 44, ARMY 21 Zac Stacy set career highs with 198 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns, and quarterback Jordan Rodgers made the most of his first career start, as Vanderbilt (4-3) defeated Army (2-5). Rodgers, younger brother of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, rushed for 96 yards and a score and passed for 186 yards and another touchdown.

BOWLING GREEN 13, TEMPLE 10 Matt Schilz threw a 24-yard pass to Shaun Joplin with 7 minutes 41 seconds left for Bowling Green (4-4, 2-2 Mid-American Conference). Both of the game’s touchdowns came in the final quarter, as Bernard Pierce’s 2-yard scoring run gave Temple its only lead, 10-6, with 11:02 to play. For Temple (5-3, 3-2), two players rushed for more than 100 yards: Matt Brown with 119 and Pierce with 107.

DARTMOUTH 37, COLUMBIA 0 Nick Schwieger, the leading career rusher for the Big Green, carried 29 times for 157 yards and 3 touchdowns as Dartmouth (3-4, 2-2 Ivy League) routed visiting Columbia (0-6, 0-3).

BROWN 35, CORNELL 24 Kyle Newhall-Caballero threw for two touchdowns and ran for two more as Brown (5-1, 2-1 Ivy League) won in Ithaca, N.Y. Jeff Mathews threw for 402 yards and 2 touchdowns for Cornell (2-4, 0-3).

HARVARD 56, PRINCETON 39 Collier Winters passed for 403 yards and 5 touchdowns and rushed for a score to lead Harvard (5-1, 3-0 Ivy League) in Cambridge, Mass. Princeton (1-5, 1-2) amassed 556 total yards, 4 yards less than Harvard.

PENN 37, YALE 25 Billy Ragone threw for three touchdowns and ran for one and Pennsylvania (4-2, 3-0 Ivy League) outscored visiting Yale (3-3, 2-1) by 27-5 in the fourth quarter. Brandon Colavita rushed for 156 yards on 18 carries for Penn.

LAFAYETTE 45, FORDHAM 24 Lafayette (3-4, 1-1 Patriot League) overcame a 413-yard passing performance by Ryan Higgins for visiting Fordham (1-6, 0-3).

RHODE ISLAND 38, DELAWARE 34 Behind Robert Bentsen’s three touchdown passes, Rhode Island (2-5, 1-3 Colonial Athletic Association) beat visiting Delaware (4-4, 2-3) for the first time since 2002.

ALBANY 63, CENTRAL CONN. 35 Dan Di Lella threw a team-record five touchdown passes for Albany (5-2, 4-0 Northeast Conference) in a rout at Central Connecticut State (2-6, 1-4).

IN OTHER GAMES Dontra Peters rushed for two touchdowns in a 27-21 victory for New Hampshire (5-2, 3-1 Colonial Athletic Association) over Massachusetts (4-3, 0-1) in Foxborough, Mass. ... Larry McCoy ran for three touchdowns as Duquesne (6-2, 4-1 Northeast Conference) beat visiting Wagner (1-6, 1-3), 37-21. ... Kyle Essington threw for two touchdowns and ran for one as visiting Stony Brook (4-3, 2-0 Big South Conference) defeated Virginia Military Academy (1-6, 1-2), 42-14.

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Paterno Ties Record, PSU Beats Northwestern 34-24

Silas Redd ran for 164 yards and a touchdown, Matt McGloin threw for 192 yards and two scores, and the Nittany Lions clamped down in the second half to give their storied coach another milestone victory as he watched from the coaches' box.

Paterno will try to move ahead of Robinson, the Grambling State legend, when the Nittany Lions (7-1, 4-0 Big Ten) host Illinois next Saturday. That starts a tough stretch that also includes a home game against Nebraska before trips to Ohio State and Wisconsin.

Paterno still has a long way to go to catch John Gagliardi of Division III St. John's, Minn. (481 and counting), the only other coach with more wins, but this was another big notch for an icon in his 46th season leading the Nittany Lions.

That he got it against Northwestern (2-5, 0-4) was fitting, too.

After all, when he tied Bear Bryant with 323 wins, he did it against the Wildcats. No. 400 came at their expense, too, last season in Happy Valley when Penn State rallied from 21 down to win 35-21.

This one wasn't quite as dramatic, although it was wild in the early going.

Penn State led 27-24 at halftime after Stephfon Green scored on a 1-yard run in the closing seconds, and Redd made it a 10-point game early in the third when he ran it in from the 19 after Gerald Hodges returned an interception 63 yards. A defense that got picked apart in the first half took over from there, sending Northwestern to its fifth straight loss in a miserable season.

That had to make Paterno feel a little better being away from the sideline, still recovering from right shoulder and pelvis injuries suffered after a receiver ran into him in practice Aug. 7.

The Wildcats simply couldn't stop Redd, who has four straight games with 100 or more yards. He also had a 44-yard run late in the second quarter that set up Green's TD.

McGloin wasn't bad either, completing 17 of 26 passes. Devon Smith had six catches for 110 yards, including a 45-yard touchdown, and once the defense got going, Northwestern had no chance.

Ranked among the stingiest in the nation coming in, Penn State's defense gave up 406 yards, but it also delivered seven sacks — two by Jordan Hill. That includes a pair of big ones on Kain Colter in the fourth quarter right after Dan Persa hobbled off the field.

He came up grabbing his left ankle and limped off the field after a 4-yard run that put the ball on the Penn State 13.

A 17-yard sack by Hill on Colter and an 11-yarder by Sean Stanley drove the Wildcats all the way back to the 41 and forced them to punt, helping preserve the win.

Persa threw for 294 yards, completing 26 of 34 passes, but he got sacked four times and was largely a non-factor in the second half.

The same goes for Colter.

He ran for 51 yards, including a 46-yarder in the second quarter that led to his own 4-yard TD run. He also caught a 12-yard touchdown pass, his first scoring reception, but got shut down in the second half — just like the rest of the Wildcats.

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Coaches Paterno, Kill on sideline today

Coaches Jerry Kill (Minnesota) and Joe Paterno (Penn State) will be on the sideline today for their teams' games against Michigan and Indiana, respectively.

Kill, hospitalized twice last month because of seizures, was released from the Mayo Clinic on Wednesday and returned to lead practice that afternoon. Despite seizure problems for years, the 50-year-old hasn't missed a game.

Paterno spent the first part of last week's game against Eastern Michigan on the sideline before heading to the press box. The 84-year-old is still recovering from shoulder and pelvis injuries suffered during a preseason practice. He will start today's game on the field but could go to the press box later on.

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Paterno plans to help young Lions in 2011

It's a little ironic, the really old guy saying he'll be back to help coach a young and improving team in 2011.

Penn State's youth is a main reason Joe Paterno cited Tuesday in announcing his plans to return for a 46th season as the team's head coach next fall.

"Now's not the time to go," Paterno said. "We've got a young team. They may not be there yet, but they will be soon."

[+] Enlarge AP Photo/Paul BattagliaCoach Joe Paterno will return for his 46th season at Penn State.And JoePa will be there to lead them, as long as his health holds up.

I'm excited about Paterno coming back for 2011. He's by far the most unique football coach I've ever covered, and he adds so much to the Big Ten and to the college game.

But how do Penn State fans feel? There's certainly a portion of Nittany Nation who wants to see Paterno step aside. The team is just 7-4 this season with four blowout losses, and recruiting for 2011 is off to a very slow start.

Paterno, by the way, addressed recruiting on the Big Ten teleconference Tuesday. Asked why he no longer recruits off campus, he cited the "hoopla" that accompanies him wherever he goes and the demands placed on his time by many folks not possessing a rocket arm or a 4.4 in the 40-yard dash.

"Sometimes you can't get in to see all of the kids with the same intensity that you see some of them," Paterno said. "I've always been reluctant to make some guys feel more important than others."

That's certainly noble, but Penn State has only five players verbally committed for 2011. Perhaps that number will increase after Tuesday's announcement, but Paterno's assistants have to do the lion's share of the work.

Paterno seemed surprised Tuesday when asked about his plans, as if there was any doubt he'd be back.

"I've never indicated to anybody that I'm not coming back," he said. "I've not thought about getting out of it."

Paterno will turn 84 on Dec. 21, and his health is and will be the No. 1 concern going forward. He had some significant health issues in the late spring and early summer and looked very frail at Big Ten preseason media days in August.

But Paterno has looked better and better as the season has gone on. He sounded very sharp today on the Big Ten call.

Is Paterno's return the healthiest thing for Penn State's program? Opinions vary, but Paterno is right about the Lions' youth and the greater potential for 2011.

And if the old guy helps Penn State return to the Big Ten's upper crust, those really young guys -- the elite recruits -- likely will flock to State College.

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