Bowling success
TAMPA, Fla. — Joe Paterno is not sure he'll ever take a liking to working from the press box.
The longtime Penn State coach jotted down notes, relayed messages to the field through assistants and even pounded his first on a table in frustration when some things didn't go right for the Nittany Lions in Monday's Outback Bowl.
What he didn't do was give himself credit for contributing to a 20-10 victory over No. 17 Tennessee.
"I don't do much. Hopefully the staff is prepared," the 80-year-old coach, recovering from a broken leg, said of what it was like to watch the game from a booth high above the field instead of roaming the sideline in his signature rolled-up khakis and blue-and-white Penn State jacket.
"They need me like they need a hole in the head," he added. "But I don't like it up there. It's not much fun."
Outback MVP Tony Hunt rushed for 158 yards and Tony Davis returned a fumble 88 yards for a touchdown to help Paterno — the all-time leader in bowl victories — improve to 16-6 in New Year's Day bowls and get his 22nd postseason win overall.
Win or lose, Paterno felt a strong showing against Tennessee (9-4) was important to gauge where the Nittany Lions (9-4), who lost to Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin, are heading.
He was encouraged by the play of junior quarterback Anthony Morelli, who threw for 197 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions. And, the Penn State defense forced three turnovers, using one fumble to set up Kevin Kelly's 34-yard field goal and a second to snap a 10-10 tie on Davis' TD.
"It's a big-time win against a ranked opponent, something that teams were saying we couldn't do," Hunt said. "People were saying we couldn't beat teams that were ranked because we struggled early on in the year."
Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer feared his team's porous run defense might be a liability against Hunt, who compiled his eighth 100-yard game of the season on 31 carries — eight more rushing attempts than the Volunteers had as a team.
"You play against Joe Paterno's football teams, they're going to be tough, they're going to be disciplined, they're going to be able to run the football," said Fulmer, who also lost to Penn State in the 1994 Florida Citrus Bowl.
"I knew that, having been there before. I learned some great lessons from him the last time. If we take care of the football better, at least it's a more interesting game there at the end."
Paterno broke his shinbone and tore two ligaments in his left knee in a sideline collision during a loss at Wisconsin on Nov. 4. He watched Penn State's next game from home — the first he'd missed in nearly three decades — and returned to Beaver Stadium to watch the season finale against Michigan State from the press box.
As late as Sunday, Paterno remained optimistic about being on the sideline for his record 33rd bowl appearance, although he stressed he would only do so if he felt up to it physically and didn't think it would be a distraction to his players.
He spent a few minutes on the field during pregame warmups, then shook hands with Fulmer and other well-wishers before returning to the locker room.
Sloppy weather — the game was played through intermittent rain — contributed to Paterno's decision to join some of his assistants in the coaches booth.
LaMarcus Coker scored on a 42-yard run for Tennessee in the second quarter, and Erik Ainge's 53-yard, fourth-quarter completion to Chris Brown put the Vols into a position to possibly take the lead.
But Arian Foster fumbled on the next play, Davis picked up the loose ball and raced untouched up the sideline to put Penn State ahead 17-10.
"The fumble changed the whole thing around," Paterno said.
