Oct 30, 2004 4 min read

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – In his 39th season as the head coach at Penn State, Joe Paterno is straining to see what’s wrong with his Nittany Lions. One thing Paterno is certain of is that his team is not 2-5 because he’s too old.

“I don’t feel 77. That’s not my problem,” Paterno said. “My problem is not winning football games.”

Paterno doesn’t even need those famous thick-rimmed eyeglasses to notice that his defense is holding up its end of the bargain. Injuries have hurt the offense, as has inconsistent play up front, a revolving door at quarterback and mediocre play at the skill positions.

What’s most troubling is that it’s all of that and more. Paterno can’t figure it out precisely and doesn’t have an easy answer for how to turn things around.

“I don’t have any magic bullet or anything like that,” he said.

The Nittany Lions seek their first Big Ten win of the season when they travel to Ohio State today to face a Buckeyes team with problems of its own.

Ohio State’s leading rusher, Lydell Ross, may not play after allegedly handing out fake coupons at a Columbus strip club. He was suspended for last week and freshman Tony Pittman ran for 144 yards and a touchdown in his place against lowly Indiana.

The Buckeyes also are fighting off questions about an unproductive offense that weren’t necessarily put to rest by the 30-7 rout of the Hoosiers.

“This week will be a real barometer of where we are,” said right guard Mike Kne. “Here’s where we’re going to find out what we’re really made of.”

Penn State (2-5, 0-4) is coming off a 6-4 loss against Iowa. It had been 20 years since the Nittany Lions held an opponent to so few points and lost.

Midway through the fourth quarter, the Hawkeyes took an intentional safety to narrow their lead to two points. Despite needing just a field goal to take the lead, Penn State never threatened again.

“Between the offense and the defense, it’s just been a lot of us telling them, ‘Sorry,”‘ said tight end Isaac Smolko. “They’re playing like the best defense in the league and they’re playing so good right now that for us to not be able to score just two touchdowns to win a game – in Saturday’s case, one touchdown – it’s frustrating for us. So it’s just been a lot of apologies from the offense to the defense.”

Quarterback Zack Mills has a mild concussion and is questionable for the game. Because of a shoulder injury and other nagging bumps and bruises, he hasn’t been himself all season. He’s thrown 10 interceptions with only six touchdown passes.

The running game hasn’t been much better, managing just 119 yards per game – 5.5 more than the Nittany Lions’ stout defense is giving up.

Penn State is averaging three turnovers a game. So desperate is Paterno that he’s taking consolation in the little things.

“We can get started,” he said of the offense. “We were ahead 2-0 on Saturday but we couldn’t take advantage of it.”

Wow. A 2-0 lead and the defense didn’t make it stand up?

“This is probably the best 2-5 team in the history of college football,” Ohio State cornerback Dustin Fox said.

Ohio State (4-3, 1-3) was ranked as high as No. 7 in the nation before spiraling out of the polls with three consecutive losses to open the Big Ten schedule, with most of the blame falling on a turnover-prone offense.

Now, the Buckeyes need to win two of their final four games to qualify for a bowl game.

With games at Michigan State and Purdue and at home against Michigan left, this is as close as it gets to a must-win for a team that’s in eighth place in the Big Ten.

Troy Smith gets his second start in a row at quarterback while Justin Zwick mends from a mildly separated shoulder.

The last three meetings have teetered on a play or two, with Penn State winning 29-27 in 2001, losing to eventual national champion Ohio State 13-7 the following year and then coming up short 21-20 in Happy Valley last season.

The way the offenses have played most of this season, 2-0 might be a final score this time.

“I don’t sense any finger-pointing,” Paterno said.

“As I have said many times, I don’t point fingers at anybody. I point fingers at myself.”