For the first time in 29 years, Joe Paterno will miss a Penn State football game.
Heeding the advice of Dr. Wayne Sebastianelli, Paterno decided yesterday that he will remain at Mount Nittany Medical Center after undergoing surgery earlier this week while his team takes the field against the Temple Owls at 3:30 p.m. tomorrow, according to a Penn State press release.
Because NCAA rules prohibit any communication from outside the stadium, Paterno will not be allowed to communicate with his staff at all during Saturday's game.
The release stated Paterno gathered his assistants in his hospital room yesterday morning to deliver the news -- after reviewing the game plan, of course.
"You guys know what you're doing and what we've mapped out" the 79-year-old coach told his staff, according to the release. "I don't need to be there creating a distraction. Enough on me; let's get back to football."
The release said defensive coordinator Tom Bradley will lead the defense while offensive coordinator Galen Hall will oversee the offense. The rest of the coaches will tend to their designated areas. Should a disagreement among coaches arise, Paterno said Bradley will hold the tie-breaking vote.
Bradley and Hall orchestrated practice this week in Paterno's stead, but reported that Paterno had consistently called them to prepare for the upcoming game.
"We run our game plans past him," Hall said earlier this week. "He is very much involved in everything we do, except he is just not out there on the practice field."
The release said Paterno wanted to make the decision yesterday because he didn't want to be too tempted to coach as the game approached.
Since 1950, Paterno has been on the Penn State sideline for 638 of the past 640 games. In 41 years as a head
coach, Paterno has a 360-121-3 record, second in wins only to Florida State's Bobby Bowden.
"It's tough to see," said Jay Paterno, Penn State's quarterback coach and one of Paterno's three sons, "because in my lifetime, I've never seen him spend a night in the hospital."
Paterno last missed a game in 1977, when his son, David, suffered serious injuries in a trampoline accident prior to a game against Syracuse. Paterno also missed a 1955 game against Army when his father, Angelo, passed away.
Paterno's injury has overshadowed this weekend's game against Temple.
The Owls (1-9) will make the trip from Philadelphia as huge underdogs. So far, Temple, led by first-year head coach Al Golden, a former Penn State captain and linebacker coach under Paterno, ranks near the bottom of almost every statistical category in the country and has won just three games in three years.
Meanwhile, Penn State (6-4, 4-3 Big Ten) has already qualified for the postseason. If the Lions win out, they can potentially clinch a berth in either the Outback Bowl in Tampa Bay or the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio. Since Wisconsin played in the Capital One Bowl last year, there's still a chance officials could pick Penn State for that game to avoid any repeat teams.
The Outback Bowl and the Capital One Bowl, played in Orlando, are both New Year's Day bowls, while the Alamo Bowl will be played Dec. 30.
Penn State is coming off a loss to Wisconsin last week that guaranteed the Lions finish no higher than No. 4 in the Big Ten.
While Paterno stressed the importance of finishing strong to his assistants, it's unsure if he'll be able to be a part of a late-season surge -- at least on the sideline. According to the release, plans for Paterno's involvement in Penn State's final regular season game against Michigan State week won't be determined until next week.
Sebastianelli stressed earlier this week he'd like the coach to stay off the sideline, but did not rule out a return to coaching from the coach's booth.
