Joe Paterno seemed relaxed during most of yesterday's press conference -- until someone mentioned Ohio State wideout Ted Ginn Jr.

When asked what his game plan against the All Big-Ten receiver would be, Paterno quipped, jokingly, that he wasn't exactly sure.

"Well, I'm gonna have somebody put something in his food the morning of the game," he said, laughing. "I mean, whaddya do? You go in there and pray -- you gotta pray to St. Jude for hopeless causes or something."

Ginn, who leads the conference with five receiving touchdowns and averages 84.3 yards per game, only caught three balls in last season's matchup, but could be problematic for a young Penn State secondary.

Still, that wasn't the only topic that riled up the 79-year-old coach.

Penn State hasn't played the No. 1 team in the nation since 1998, when the Nittany Lions lost to Ohio State, 28-9. So, Paterno grew a little flustered when asked about memorable contests against No. 1 squads.

"I don't know. We played Alabama, and they beat us," Paterno said. "I think that's the way it was -- to be frank, I really don't remember. That stands out because of the goal-line stand."

The 41-year head coach may not have recalled Alabama's ranking (it wasn't No. 1), but it wasn't long before he went back to his joking ways.

"You guys know more about that stuff than I do. I haven't got time to keep going back," Paterno said, wildly flipping through papers in an exaggerated manner, while mocking the media. "Hmm -- 1912? Your first game, Paterno, what'd you do?

"Really, I don't mean to be smart-alecky. But I haven't got the time -- I gotta worry about a kid by the name of [Troy] Smith, who's one of the better players we've played against since I've been at Penn State."

Smith was the main player Paterno discussed during the press conference. After all, the Buckeyes' quarterback seems to present the most problems for the Lions' defense. Smith boasts the third-best quarterback rating in the nation (177.4), completing almost 70 percent of his passes.

And Smith's mobility wasn't exactly lost on Paterno either.

"Well, people say, 'You gotta put pressure on him. You gotta do this and that' -- yeah, sure, try to catch him," Paterno said.

As usual, Paterno also praised the opposing team. But he upped his praise this week by saying this year's Ohio State squad might be the best football team he's played in the last five or six years.

"I just want our kids to play with some poise, concentrate, play every play hard and see what happens," he said. "Beyond that, I don't know what to tell you. There is no magical combination."