At his weekly press conference, Joe Paterno said No. 6 Ohio State (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) could be one of the toughest teams he has ever faced as head coach.
No. 16 Penn State (5-0, 2-0) has been preparing for Saturday's game against the Buckeyes since the final seconds of the game clock ticked away last week.
"All I know is we're playing one of the best teams we've ever played against," Paterno said. "There isn't a facet of their game that isn't really good."
While students slept in tents outside Gate A of Beaver Stadium, Paterno didn't say Saturday would be the biggest game the Nittany Lions have played since they defeated Nebraska in 2002.
The game against the Cornhuskers set the stadium's attendance record of 110,753, which may be rewritten Saturday. In the two seasons since that win, Penn State has not visited a bowl game during winter break, finishing with losing records in the past two years.
"I don't really know whether I would put it in the category that you would put it in," Paterno said. "I've never really felt we've been out of it. We're OK. We're not there yet. We're not great, but we're OK."
Minnesota flew out of State College last week -- losers in a 44-14 rout -- while the Buckeyes had the entirety of a bye weekend to recuperate.
Paterno said it was the Buckeyes coaching staff that makes their team so successful.
Last year, in Columbus, Ohio, the Lions were outdone by the Buckeyes, losing 21-10.
Punt returns and kickoff returns were one reason for the loss, thanks to current sophomore Buckeyes wideout Ted Ginn, Jr., who returned a punt for a touchdown early in the game.
"The kicking game was part of the fact that we got licked," Paterno said. "It didn't necessarily cost us the game. I think you underestimate Ohio State's ability to win football games when a punt return by Ginn was the only difference in the football game.
"They may change their return scheme."
Paterno did not sound too pleased with his own punt and kickoff return team, saying they had to make adjustments during the game because of poor performance early.
Ohio State's quarterback, Troy Smith, is very similar to Penn State's quarterback Michael Robinson.
Antonio Pittman, the Buckeyes running back, was another concern Paterno had regarding Ohio State's offense.
"He doesn't quite get the ink that everyone gets on that football team," Paterno said.
"He's an excellent, excellent tailback and, if you get a little careless, I think he'll hurt you. So, I think that offensively you have to start with their quarterback and understand how good he is ... He's awfully good."
On "Camp Nittany"
"I'm delighted," Paterno said about the atmosphere in State College this week.
"But, for me to tell you I've been downtown, checking pulses, no. I have not been downtown checking pulses. I get up in the morning and check and see just if my heart's going."
Shout outs
Paterno was not feeling particularly well last week, and thanked his assistant coaches for their fervor in practice last week.
"Saturday night my youngest son Scott came over to me after the game and said, 'Boy, that's the best prepared team I've seen in a long time.' He said, 'You ought to get sick more often.' "
Batten down the hatches
Paterno compared the Buckeyes to a hurricane when asked to assess how important Saturday's game would be for the Lions: "Whether it's a category-five hurricane, category-four hurricane, category-three hurricane -- when it hits you, it hits you. You don't look up and say, 'Is that four or five or three.' It hits you, and we're going to get hit."
