ORLANDO, Fla. -- If it could only be just between the lines.

If only the biggest problems could be a receiver confusing an S streak with an X streak or a linebacker failing to drop back into coverage. If life were only football it would be easy -- there wouldn't be as much pain, but you'd miss out on some of the joy, too.

For Penn State's football team, 2002 was a little bit of both. The Nittany Lions' on-field success was tempered by losses to the team's extended family, such as the deaths of fullback Sean McHugh's mother Jeannie; Kevin Dare, brother of senior Eric Dare; Karen Ganter, wife of offensive coordinator Fran Ganter and mother of backup quarterback Chris Ganter; and George Paterno, brother of Joe Paterno.

While the days leading up to the Capital One Bowl might have been a celebration of what the team has accomplished on the field, Joe Paterno made sure no one forgot the greater emotion of the year.

"It's been a long year," Paterno said at his Jan. 2 press conference. "I worried about Franny, Eric Dare I worried about, I worried about me, but we got through it."

At a pep rally before the game, Paterno read a poem written by his wife, Sue, that was a tribute to the team's losses. Moreover, Paterno said the way people both inside and outside the program came together was a real source of strength.

"This has been a very moving experience for me to see people like the Dare family, how people rallied around Franny," Paterno said. "Down at the bar at the Peabody [Hotel] they had an empty chair for George. Fran Fisher was telling me they got him an Old Granddad and the waitress came over and said 'Can I take this away?' And Fran said, 'Yeah, but bring him another one.' "

Charlie Brown would grumble

Were Charles Schultz still with us today, maybe he would have pulled out his sketchpad to draw up "Happy New Year Charlie Brown." And just like Christmas, our hero would have had a simple complaint: over-commercialization.

Exchanging Citrus moniker for Capital One, fine. Selling beer at the stadium -- sounds like a fine idea. But overblown pregame spectacles put on by ESP Productions? That crossed the line.

Before the game both the Blue Band and Auburn's band had everyone on their feet and ready for a great game. However, the atmosphere was wiped out like LJ on a slip and slide after the pregame crew took the field.

There were what looked like thousands of ninth-grade cheerleaders, fireworks and a giant inflatable football that four people had to keep from blowing away. Speakers so loud they reduced your ear drums to applesauce, blaring techno gobbledy-gook in between cuts from the theme to Monday Night Football (at a college game played on a Wednesday afternoon?).

It was just too much. Where was Linus when you needed him?

Day to Remember

Offense: Auburn RB Ronnie Brown. Maybe Brown didn't reel off big carry after big carry, but he did wear down the Lions' defense and that was enough in a game that looked like the run-heavy playbooks were from 1960. Just think, Brown isn't even Auburn's stud tailback. That would be the injured Cadillac Williams.

Defense: Tackles Anthony Adams and Jimmy Kennedy. Adams had one of, if not his best game of the season. Kennedy played well all game and came up huge on fourth and one early in the third quarter, stuffing Auburn quarterback Jason Campbell. There's a reason why the Tigers' only touchdown drive came when AA and Kennedy were sidelined with minor injuries.

Day to Forget

Offense: TB Larry Johnson. Clearly Johnson wasn't the only Lion who had a bad day -- quarterback Zack Mills looked awful and receiver Bryant Johnson didn't catch a ball -- but after he'd finished up the season so strongly, nobody expected such a weak performance from Johnson.

You can blame the shoes, the turf, the play calling, the TV timeouts, whatever you want, but the record will always show LJ was small on the biggest stage. More unbelievable: he made Trev Alberts look smart.

Defense: DE Michael Haynes. He did have a half of a sack to tie the single-season record (15), but he wasn't getting in the backfield like he did all season. Not a horrible showing, but not what we've come to expect.

Statistically Speaking

For the first time since the 1974 Gator Bowl, Auburn didn't allow a touchdown in a bowl game.

Did you notice...

The drum major was not wearing his hat during the pre-game march ... The Blue Band was only allowed to perform one verse of the alma mater ... That Curb recording artist Kaci who performed the national anthem was promoted to "Internationally renowned Curb recording artist" for the halftime show (Is Curb Records even internationally renowned?) ... The public address announcer pronounced defensive tackle Tamba Hali's last name "Haley," like the comet.

Finally

Why is it the menu at the Orlando Red Lobster is the same as the Red Lobster in Columbus, Ohio? Shouldn't there be some fish brought out of the ocean that's an hour away?

Also, who is Monte the Grizzly and how much did the University of Montana pay for him to be Mascot of the Year?