Penn State football coach Joe Paterno said his Nittany Lions are looking forward and not dwelling on their opening season loss to No. 1 Miami.

The Lions should. They are going to have their hands full with Virginia on Thursday night.

Playing its second straight night game, Penn State will try and rebound against the Cavaliers, a team that struggled against Div. I-AA Richmond in its second game of the season, winning the game by one point.

The Lions and Cavaliers share some of the same problems with depth and injuries. Penn State lost starting outside linebacker Derek Wake who tore his medial collateral ligament in the loss to the Hurricanes and also had some players bumped and bruised, including quarterback Matt Senneca and cornerback Bruce Branch. Both Senneca and Branch have been in practice the past few days and are expected to be back at Virginia.

"We've got our problems with injuries," Paterno said. "Wake is a big loss for us. Wake is one of the better athletes that we have and losing him is something that's going to be tough."

Virginia's injury problem is a little more painful for first-year coach Al Groh.

The Cavaliers lost starting running back Antwoine Womack when he severely sprained his ankle against Wisconsin in their season opener. The senior underwent surgery and will not play Thursday.

Senneca, Easy Will Start

Junior quarterback Matt Senneca, who injured his elbow in the Miami loss, will start against the Cavaliers. Paterno said Senneca missed one day of practice and has recovered nicely after complaining about numbness in his hand after suffering a contusion in his ulnar nerve. The coach said Senneca is the Penn State quarterback even though redshirt freshman Zack Mills threw for 240 yards and a touchdown against Miami.

The Lions coach also said senior tailback Omar Easy will start against the Cavaliers and that he will be the starter until Eric McCoo or Larry Johnson can prove they deserve the starting spot. Because Easy never had academic or injury problems, Paterno said, he deserves to be the main runner in the Penn State backfield.

Thin At Linebacker

Because of the loss of Wake and the enzyme disorder that limits Deryck Toles to about 30 plays per game, the Lions will look to young and inexperienced players to fill the void at linebacker. Paterno is being patient though, telling the media at his weekly news conference that he expects the linebackers to be less timid and more confident against Virginia.

Paterno added that because of Wake's absence, players need to step in and fill big roles to make sure the Penn State defense is solid in the middle.

"Tommy Williams is going to have to rise to the occasion," he said. "Ron Graham is back at that position and Ron is going to have to push himself, realize he has an obligation to his teammates and an obligation to this program.

"It's time for Ron now to pay his dues."

Players Looking Ahead

Senior Bob Jones doesn't want to dwell on the Miami loss, the defensive end said he wants to move ahead and get a win at Virginia. Jones said the team has put the season opening defeat behind them and is focusing on this Thursday's matchup. He added that if the Lions can correct some minor details and fix a few small mistakes, Penn State will be a successful team.

"We didn't execute the way we needed to," Jones said. "That was our focus this summer. Just being together and playing as a unit. Things just kind of got away from us."