At this point last year, Joe Paterno was visiting the campsite that shared his namesake, grinning while shaking hands and speaking with the students that created the Happy Valley craze.

That may be over with for now. But at his weekly press conference yesterday, Paterno didn't shy away from expressing how he felt about this year's Paternoville situation.

"[College] is the greatest experience of your life. You're only here once, and let's be careful that we don't take away some things they're going to remember the rest of their lives," he said.

Paterno didn't want to be overly critical, he said, since he didn't have the specifics on why the campsite was restricted. No one from the administration consulted him, and he didn't call up Old Main either.

"If I had one reaction to it, I hope we don't get to the point where every time there's a lot of enthusiasm for something that we gotta worry about the consequences," Paterno said. "Sure there are consequences. There are always going to be consequences."

Paterno still hoped this Saturday's atmosphere at Beaver Stadium would mirror last year's Ohio State game, where some Buckeye players said their ears were ringing from all the noise.

School traditions or fan noise may not win games alone, Paterno said, but seeing the Buckeyes' sea of red fans this year or being a witness to Penn State's "White Out" are reasons, Paterno said, that keep him coaching.

"Those are the kinds of days you back away and you say, 'Boy, am I gonna miss those when I'm home cutting grass,' " he said. "And I think Saturday night should be a very exciting, special night... It'll be great to see all the white. It makes you feel like it's one of those events in your life that very few people take part in."

Paterno labeled Michigan as one of the top three teams in the country. He also said he admired the program -- he actually considered taking on the Wolverines' head coaching job in 1968 before opting to stay at Penn State.

Paterno was adamant that, "The only place I would think about leaving Penn State is Michigan." And he also believed last year's Wolverines were even better than their team that played in the Alamo Bowl.

But the 79-year-old coach made clear revenge wasn't a factor this year, adding that any hype about getting back at Michigan has just been media-generated.

"It's all overblown. You haven't got time to go back and moan," he said. "What do you want me to do, tie Lloyd Carr's hands behind his back and say he can't point to the clock?

"We just gotta forget about everything else and play our best football game Saturday and hope it's good enough."