Penn State wins Rose Bowl berth

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - During Penn State's team meeting Friday, Joe Paterno broke down. The Nittany Lions coach was not, as rumors suggested, announcing his retirement. He simply was expressing the emotions he felt for a senior class that came to Happy Valley when the coach's retiring would have pleased the natives. Those 17 young men were about to play in their final home game. "I don't think we expected that," senior center A.Q. Shipley said. "That was a pretty touching scene. He lost control of his emotions for a [second]. It was pretty tough to watch." Penn State, and especially those seniors, rewarded the 81-year-old Paterno with a near-flawless 49-18 clobbering of Michigan State yesterday in front of 109,845 fans at Beaver Stadium. The dominating display gave Penn State its third Big Ten title and first Rose Bowl berth in 14 years. Barring unlikely events, the Lions will head to Pasadena, Calif., on Jan. 1 against either Oregon State or Southern California of the Pac-10 conference. Penn State still is not mathematically eliminated from the national-title chase, but the odds are steep. "It's just been so satisfying to see these guys stick together," said Paterno, who plans to return next year for what would be his 44th season as head coach. "We talked about when we were having our problems, that all we needed were a couple kids to come in there and maybe give us a different attitude to help us get over the hump." The No. 7 Lions moved to 11-1 overall and 7-1 in the conference. The team also became the sixth program to collect 800 wins. Paterno has won 383 of them and was around for another 104 as an assistant coach. Aside from the success on the field, the season has been difficult for Paterno, who said he likely would have hip-replacement surgery sometime this week. "In retrospect you got to look back and think, 'He's [81] years old. He's gone through a tough year in terms of his hip,' " Shipley said. "We obviously wanted him to have this win and get another Big Ten title." Junior quarterback Daryll Clark passed for 341 yards and four touchdowns on 16-of-26 passing. He also ran for a score. Clark acknowledged moments of doubt over the last week, but yesterday, he strutted with a spring in his step - "pimping" as he jokingly called it. "That's a little confident step," Clark said. "You get a little pep in your step. This is the football I like playing. This is what I'm capable of doing." With a trio of senior wide receivers at his disposal, he's capable of plenty. Deon Butler, Jordan Norwood and Derrick Williams combined for 12 catches for 311 yards and four TDs. Butler had three catches for 133 yards and three TDs, while Norwood had five for 127. "Those were Madden Game numbers," Butler said. No. 17 Michigan State (9-2, 6-2) was intent on stopping the run and forcing Clark to beat them. He did so unmercifully. Penn State's 419 passing yards set a team record. The Lions' defense, meanwhile, was just as intent on stopping the run and forcing Spartans quarterback Brian Hoyer to lead. He could not and tossed two interceptions. Michigan State running back Javon Ringer, who entered the game averaging 140 yards on the ground, was held to 42 yards on 17 carries. "We never let the train start rolling," defensive tackle Jared Odrick said, referring to Ringer. "We stopped it dead in its tracks and kind of knocked it off its track." Penn State led, 28-7, at the break, but Michigan State rebounded from an early third quarter 24-7 deficit last year to win, 35-31. "We said, 'Let's not even think about last year. Let's put that out of our minds,' " defensive coordinator Tom Bradley said. Paterno worked from the coaches' box for the seventh straight game, but he was in the locker room for the ceremony. It the media room, he was handed a bouquet of roses and cracked, "I don't want anyone to take a picture of me with roses." For the fifth-year and true seniors, it was a fitting conclusion to their careers. "We committed on a 3-9 and came in on a 4-7 season and had enough belief in him and had enough belief in the coaches," Shipley said. "We had to look beyond what was happening at that point."