TAMPA, Fla. — Another football season is over for Joe Paterno. He can't start hitting the recruiting trail for a couple of weeks.

So what's an 80-year-old coach recovering from a broken left leg going to do until then?

"I'm going to go home and sit on my rear end a couple days and relax," Paterno said Tuesday.

Classes don't resume at Penn State until Jan. 16, so the Nittany Lions (9-4) have two weeks to soak up the 20-10 win over No. 17 Tennessee at the Outback Bowl.

"The kids are off, I'll be home," Paterno said. "When they come back, we'll talk."

There probably will be no mention of retirement, though.

Paterno broke a shinbone and tore two knee ligaments after a nasty sideline collision at Wisconsin on Nov. 4. He hasn't been on the field for a game since, though Paterno said he's close to being "100 percent."

While JoePa coached at the Outback Bowl from the press box — the first time that he was absent from the sideline for a bowl game in his 41-year head-coaching tenure — he is determined to lose the crutch in another couple of weeks.

"The doctor says I'm way ahead right now," Paterno said. "It gets a little weak. I'm at a point right now psychologically that if I get a little twinge, I get a little nervous because I don't want to go backward."

A defense that allowed just 14.4 points per game may not regress much next season, even with the loss of two-time All-American linebacker Paul Posluszny. The clean-cut "Pos" rebounded nicely from a right knee injury suffered a year ago at the Orange Bowl to finish his career as Penn State's all-time leading tackler.

Dan Connor is poised to take over the starring role at Linebacker U., though the junior is considering whether to forego his senior year to enter the NFL draft.

It's Posluszny's leadership that JoePa might miss even more.

"The problem is, I won't realize how much I'm going to miss him until a couple things happen on the field, and I'm going to look around at Paul to grab Connor and say, 'Hey, knock it off!"'

The biggest concern might be defensive line, which loses three starters. But Paterno can take heart in his young secondary, which will return sophomore starters Anthony Scirrotto, Tony Davis and Justin King. Each came up big against the Volunteers.

Scirrotto grabbed his sixth interception. Davis returned a fumble 88 yards for a touchdown. King limited standout Tennessee receiver Robert Meachem to four catches and 33 yards

Penn State snagged its first win in five games this season against a ranked team.

"We finally proved that we can beat a ranked opponent," Posluszny said. "It's great for the program because now you have all this momentum this season going into the next season."

The offense had a roller-coaster year, but ends this campaign on a high note after putting together its finest all-around performance in Tampa. Often criticized quarterback Anthony Morelli excelled by throwing for 197 yards and one touchdown on 14-of-25 passing.

"He might have been a little shellshocked because of the criticism he got, but he worked his way through it and kept his poise," Paterno said.

A deep, talented receiving corps should return, including wideouts Derrick Williams, Deon Butler and 6-foot-5 tight end Andrew Quarless, who was used more late in his freshman year.