EAST LANSING, Mich. — Joe Paterno says he isn't thinking about bowl games.

That's relatively easy for him to say, given that his Penn State team knows it soon will be in one for the 34th time under his leadership. The only question is when and where.

First-year Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio, on the other hand, admits he's got bowl games on the brain. That's because although his Spartans technically already are bowl eligible, they may have to beat the Nittany Lions on Saturday at Spartan Stadium to secure a bid for the first time since 2003.

The regular season finale has postseason implications for both Penn State (8-3, 4-3 Big Ten) and Michigan State (6-5, 2-5).

Dantonio says a bowl bid and the extra practices and exposure it provides would be a huge boost for the Spartans program.

"Really the last three weeks, we've looked at everybody's schedules and who they're playing and where they fit in the standings and what we could do about that," Dantonio said. "So we've been looking at that and keeping track of that. But all our focus has been on the team we're going to play, so all my focus since then has been on Penn State.

"But I think we're naive if we didn't look at the standings. We know who's playing who and what we have to do. We'll stay focused on our task."

Paterno wouldn't even entertain thoughts about how a bowl game might help set up his team for next season.

"I wish I could tell you that I think about these things that way," Paterno said. "I don't."

He then rattled off Michigan State's offensive weapons — the Spartans average 34 points per game, tops in the Big Ten — and said they occupied his full attention.

"What am I going to do, speculate?" Paterno said of the bowl picture. "That's a luxury I don't have the time for."

Penn State has a shot at a New Year's Day bowl, possibly the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Fla. The Alamo Bowl in San Antonio on Dec. 29 also is among a long list of possibilities.

If Michigan State wins, it will be bowl bound — possibly the Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando, Fla., the Insight Bowl in Tempe, Ariz., or the Motor City Bowl in Detroit.

The Spartans still might make a bowl if they lose, but a trip would not be guaranteed.

Ten Big Ten teams have at least the six wins necessary to become bowl eligible. But the conference has tie-ins with just seven bowls, meaning the six-win teams — Michigan State, Northwestern, Indiana and Iowa — are particularly nervous heading into the last week of the regular season. Purdue, with seven wins, can't be feeling too comfortable, either.

It is possible Big Ten teams could get bids to bowls outside the conference alliance if other conferences can't fill all their slots.