As usual, Joe Paterno briefly mentioned players on the injury report during his weekly press conference yesterday -- with one unusual addendum.

Himself.

When one reporter asked the status of the offensive line and Penn State's 79-year-old coach, Paterno responded in a serious tone before talking about himself.

"Levi Brown will not play this week, and Jimmy Shaw is questionable, as is Robert Price who's a little banged up," he said.

"And as far as I'm concerned, who cares? My bumps and bruises have no effect on the ball game."

Paterno was leveled last week when safety Spencer Ridenhour and tight end Andrew Quarless smacked into the coach while he was correcting Lydell Sargeant in the end zone.

But Paterno didn't dwell on the incident too long before moving on to another sensitive topic in college football.

The BCS.

The Penn State coach was prompted to speak on the issue after discovering Michigan coach Lloyd Carr touched upon it during his press conference.

"I would like to have [playoffs]. I just think it's a better way to do it," he said.

Paterno explained his decision by alluding to the BCS situation two years ago when USC, Oklahoma and Auburn all went undefeated. At the time, Paterno was voting in the coaches poll and decided to vote all three teams as No. 1.

Needless to say, those in charge of the poll weren't too happy.

"I got a telephone call from USA [Today] saying, 'You can't do that. It's gonna foul up the computer.' And I said, 'I can't tell you who's No. 1,' " Paterno explained.

"I got another call from someone else who's connected to the football poll that said, 'You'll have to' -- and I said I'm not gonna do it, so forget about it. So, I no longer vote."

Playoffs or not, Paterno and company are still working towards a BCS Bowl this season. But they'll have to get past Minnesota on Saturday first.

Of course, one week ago, it seemed like the game would be moved to Thanksgiving weekend. After the Detroit Tigers lost to the Kansas City Royals on Sunday, though, it freed up the Metrodome for the Lions-Gophers game.

"If you think I was sitting there, trying to watch inning-by-inning of a baseball game -- when it was decided we were going to play this Saturday, I got three phone calls from three assistant coaches," Paterno said.

Paterno may not have to worry about the scheduled date anymore, but there's still a major concern about Penn State's red zone offense. In the Lions' first four trips inside the 20-yard line Saturday, they didn't come away with a single touchdown.

Tony Hunt fumbled during one drive, and kicker Kevin Kelly nailed three field goals to give Penn State the 9-0 advantage.

"I'd be less than honest if I said it doesn't bother me. It does bother me," Paterno said. "When you go down there with really nice looking drives and teach them a lot of things well, and you come away with three points, six points, nine points -- it bothers me.

"We spend an awful lot of time trying to correct the bad things that happen to us down there because most of it is our own doing."