Joe Paterno was hardly the center of attention when he walked into Beaver Stadium's interview room minutes after his team's 59-0 rout of Florida International.
Televisions mounted from the ceiling were tuned in to the final minutes of Michigan's season opener against Appalachian State, and reporters stared at them as the upset unfolded.
But when the 80-year-old coach walked in, the TVs were quickly snapped off. The reporters whooped and hollered their objections.
"OK, guys, if you're not interested, I'm going home," Paterno shouted to everyone assembled, drawing raucous laughter.
If you went home from Beaver Stadium any earlier than the final whistle Saturday, you missed the most exciting moments the crowd would experience all afternoon.
No fans were sitting on the edge of their seats as the Lions bulldozed Florida International on Saturday. But the crowd that streamed into the concourse eagerly grouped around TVs mounted throughout the concourse, watching as Appalachian State sealed the upset over the Wolverines.
Even though the TVs had been turned off for Paterno's post-game press conference, a roar from the concourse about five minutes later told the reporters that the game had ended.
There were waves of excitement pulsing through Beaver Stadium that afternoon that just don't flow during the first week of a college football season. Michigan's loss captured college football fans' attention during a week that's traditionally reserved as a time for upper-tier teams to host sub-par opponents, stomp them, then hand them a check as they head for the road.
This Wolverines' loss alters a couple things. Nittany Lion fans probably can't help but feel a little disappointed that Sept. 22's match between Penn State and Michigan in Ann Arbor won't be between two undefeated teams.
Some Penn State players and coaches who heard about the loss weren't necessarily cheering.
"I have a tremendous amount of respect for Michigan," Paterno said.
He went on to say that he'd even considered accepting an offer to coach the Wolverines before Michigan hired legendary coach Bo Schembechler in the late 1960s.
Playing a Wolverines team that's already sustained a loss will also affect Penn State's strength-of-schedule considerations, center A.Q. Shipley pointed out after the game.
"You always want to root for the conference," he said.
Even though dreams of a national title run appear to have evaded Ann Arbor in 2007, this is still a team that has the players -- quarterback Chad Henne, wide receiver Mario Manningham and running back Mike Hart -- that could put together a Big Ten title run. The Wolverines could still cruise to the Rose Bowl.
Also, don't forget that Penn State hasn't beaten Michigan in the teams' last eight meetings. It might look bad if the Lions lost to a Wolverines team that was upset so badly.
"You know they're going to come back, because they have the talent," linebacker Sean Lee said. "It's surprising, though -- extremely shocking."
Kevin Horan is a senior majoring in journalism and political science and a Collegian football writer. His e-mail is kjh5017@psu.edu.
