Come tomorrow, two similar teams will collide -- coached by two men separated by 48 years and 474 games.
Joe Paterno's Coke-bottle frames will meet the eyes of the youngest coach in college football, 31-year-old Pat Fitzgerald, in what is quite possibly the first time the oldest and youngest coaches will shake hands on the same field.
Before Fitzgerald was born, Penn State's historic 79-year-old coach had already registered 75 wins, four Bowl victories and three undefeated seasons.
But at 3:30 p.m. tomorrow, Wildcats' tailback Tyrell Sutton said none of that will matter.
"If you can coach, you can coach. It has nothing to do with age," he said.
Paterno boasts the experience, and Fitzgerald has the youth. But tomorrow's game will be decided on the field -- not by the coaches on the sideline.
"We're fired up. We feel like we're on the edge of being a really good team," Penn State linebacker Sean Lee said. "We're a little angry because we wanted to win that
[Ohio State] game, but now we know we can win and we need to start getting it done."
The same could be said of Northwestern.
The Wildcats are also concerned about their 2-2 record, the most recent loss coming in a 31-21 decision to Nevada last Friday. Mistakes ended Northwestern's chance at a comeback. And the same team that made headlines earlier this season for losing to Division I-AA New Hampshire is looking to rebound.
But so is Penn State.
The two teams share a few other similarities -- a struggling passing game, a spread offense and an elite tailback.
Sutton has 347 rushing yards, a 5.7 average; Tony Hunt has 388 yards, also a 5.7 average.
"Every time Tony has a play where the ball's going to him, I have a feeling there's going to be a first down," offensive tackle John Shaw said. "He's one of the best backs in the country as far as I'm concerned."
Northwestern's fans can also probably sympathize with the struggles of quarterback Anthony Morelli. One season after Wildcats' signal caller Brett Basanez graduated, first-year starter Mike Kafka has done little to ease critics' concerns.
Kafka has one touchdown and five interceptions; Morelli, at least, has four of each.
Still, Fitzgerald said everything is starting to come together -- although he worried about the effectiveness of Penn State's screens and draws. Fitzgerald expected the Lions to attempt to establish the run early against Northwestern's No. 27-ranked defense.
Although the Lions have a young defense, Northwestern starts even more first-year players. So it seems fitting that the Wildcats' rookie coach is squaring off against a senior citizen that's been on the sidelines through 775 Div. I-A coaching changes.
Fitzgerald said Penn State's 41-year head coach also left him with some advice he's attempted to follow, especially during this week. Fitzgerald took over for the late Randy Walker after he died of a heart attack three months ago.
"[Paterno] said to me on two different occasions, 'You have to listen to your assistants. At the end of the day, the decision's made by you -- but a humble guy that has open ears can make good decisions,' " he said.
