When Penn State football coach Joe Paterno entered the media room after Saturday's 35-14 handling of Wisconsin, he probably expected to be dealing primarily with the media.

Instead, a few BCS guys bombarded him, too.

Most notably was a man wearing a nametag that read "Jay Fields," a representative of the Fiesta Bowl, who shamelessly whipped out his cell phone camera to take a snapshot of Paterno. Then there was a guy wearing a bright-orange jacket, representing the Orange Bowl. He greeted Paterno with a handshake, and the coach apologized for failing to return his call.

"That's OK, coach," the man said. "We just wanted to let you know we'd be up here."

Not to be outdone, senior defensive end Tamba Hali sported his 2002 Capital One Bowl jacket, from Penn State's last bowl appearance, just to let the younger players know how special this season could be.

Penn State now holds the fifth slot in the latest BCS rankings, although there is still a lot of football to be played before it finds out its bowl game destination.

"I'm just excited to go," linebacker Paul Posluszny said. "I've never been to one, but the Fiesta Bowl sounds nice. We just really need to focus on Michigan State."

The Nittany Lions' defense accomplished its main goal against the Badgers: Make them a one-dimensional team. By building an early lead, they were able to make Wisconsin's running game a non-factor, daring quarterback John Stocco to beat them through the air. He couldn't do it.

"Somebody said Purdue was our sloppiest win. But it almost was a blowout," cornerback Alan Zemaitis said. "Every game, in a particular area we get better. I feel like this game we put all the pieces together."

After 10 consecutive games to open the season, the Lions will finally embark on their bye-week vacation. Paterno said he would cut back in practice this week. The team will still scrimmage, though, as if there's a game to be played on Saturday.

"Joe will make us play," Zemaitis said. "We're not playing another Big Ten team, we'll be playing each other. You guys just won't be invited."

Day to remember

Offense: Tony Hunt. Senior defensive

end Matthew Rice said Hunt became a man this season. Penn State coach Joe Paterno wasn't afraid to feed the ball to the junior tailback down the stretch of Saturday's game. His 151 yards signified his best rushing performance as a Lion.

Defense: Cal-who? For all the box-score gurus out there, take heed that Wisconsin running back Brian Calhoun had -1 rushing yards in the second half. On its way to bringing down Calhoun, the defense brought down Badger quarterback John Stocco nine times.

Day to forget

Offense: Turnovers. This is certainly Nittany-Lion-picky, but Robinson's two interceptions stalled the game being over by halftime, which it probably should have been with the Lions up 21-0 early in the second quarter. Before his second touchdown to Deon Butler, there was a lot of yawning in the stands.

Defense: Secondary. Though Stocco spent most of the evening on the turf, he still managed to throw for over 300 yards and a touchdown. Wisconsin wide receiver Brandon Williams caught five passes for 102 yards.

Quotable

Michael Robinson reminded the media that they doubted the Lions would be in a position to win a Big Ten title by season's end.

"You guys laughed at us when we said we were gonna be in this situation, seriously," Robinson said. "I know you remember smiling when I said that. A lot of people didn't think we were for real. This team believed, our coaches believed, our fans believed, and we're finally in a position where we can do some things."

Did you notice?

The navy blue BranDon Snow poster. Apparently two touchdowns on two carries got Snow some wall time at a prime location in the student section ... The trail of horse manure up Beaver Stadium's south end zone tunnel from the herd of horses brought onto the field to discourage students from hopping the gate.

Extra point

The jury was still out on this year's new Nittany Lion and how he would fare as the mascot. But the past two weeks have certainly earned him some cool points with his end-zone dances. Mad props to the Lion on his performance of "Canned Heat" by Jamiroquai.