When Joe Paterno walked out of Michigan Stadium following his team's loss on Saturday, the coach reflected on the game and decided to blame one person.
Himself.
"When you lose a game like that, you can only point the finger at one person," Paterno said yesterday during his weekly press conference. "You've got to point it at the head coach."
Paterno's assistants ran most of Monday's practice -- the head coach attended the funeral of his mother-in-law, Alma Pohland. Still, he promised that when practice convened yesterday, he would work to keep the team on track as they prepared to face Illinois.
Maybe not all the blame goes to the coach. Some plays should have been made but weren't, Paterno said.
He added, without naming specifics, that some coaching decisions should have been made differently, both in preparing to face the Wolverines and while playing the game.
So the 80-year-old coach spent most of his half-hour meeting with reporters sticking up for his players and coaches.
"People like to be critical of this coach, this assistant coach, that assistant coach," Paterno said. "None of those things go on without my OK."
The coach said he has been questioned about why the offense didn't pass more often against the Wolverines. Penn State's offense ran 31 pass plays against the Wolverines and 29 running plays, even though Michigan had shown weakness against Appalachian State's and Oregon's respective passing games.
"I don't want to throw it more than that if I can help it," Paterno said, "because I don't think that's the way we're going to get to be a better football team."
Paterno said he thought that quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno and offensive coordinator Galen Hall "did really well" with playcalling duties Saturday.
More bad news for Penn State fans ...
Sunday wasn't a good day for junior linebacker Sean Lee. He was recovering from Penn State's loss to Michigan when he heard about former Penn State and current Buffalo Bills linebacker Paul Posluszny's broken left forearm, sustained in the Bills' 38-7 loss to the New England Patriots.
Posluszny is now out for the remainder of the 2007 season.
"It kind of puts it into perspective," Lee said.
"One loss isn't as bad as being out the whole season. When I heard that, I stopped moping. I realized it could be a lot worse."
Injury update
Senior offensive lineman John Shaw hasn't practiced in two weeks and Paterno said that he doesn't know when Shaw will be back.
"That's a medical question," Paterno said.
Tony Davis, a junior safety, finished with one tackle against Michigan on Saturday. A bruised left shoulder he suffered against Buffalo on Sept. 15 has bothered Davis and limited his action against the Wolverines.
"He didn't practice much last week," Paterno said. "He wasn't really ready to go a lot."
