Joe Paterno canceled practice last Monday and called a squad meeting. He thought his Penn State team was tired. Plus, he needed to address some other issues.
The 80-year-old stood in front of the team and recalled the one sign that used to hang in Penn State's locker room decades ago when he was an assistant coach. The sign, printed in Latin, was in the coaches' dressing room and served as a reminder to shield against critics and cynics. Paterno applied them to now.
"Don't let the bastards beat you down," he told his team, stealing the slogan. "Let's go play football. You can't do anything about some mistakes made by some other kids. Hopefully, they'll learn and we'll all learn from it, and we'll go from there."
Beleaguered by mental miscues on the field and mounting troubles off it, the Nittany Lions found a remedy in Wisconsin on Saturday. They looked past the distractions and played relatively mistake-free football in an impressive 38-7 win before a homecoming crowd of 109,754 at Beaver Stadium. It was Penn State's most complete performance to date and an emphatic step forward against the first ranked opponent the Lions have played this season.
It was also the first time during the week that football was the focus.
Two players received underage drinking citations, more may have been involved in a fight last weekend and Paterno said he was involved in a traffic dispute that drew national attention. In the most serious problem of the week, senior tailback Austin Scott was charged Friday with a rape that occurred on campus.
Paterno's message at Monday's meeting: Don't get discouraged or distracted by the media's negative coverage. In short, don't let the bastards beat you down.
"I think he was just trying to get across a point that we really have to believe in ourselves because sometimes no one outside Lasch Football Building is going to believe in us or think we can get things accomplished," wide receiver Terrell Golden said.
The Lions gained 437 yards of total offense and stymied Wisconsin's hulking-but-injured tailback P.J. Hill in a performance that will knot up an already tangled conference. Penn State (5-2, 2-2 Big Ten) gained traction in an uncertain Big Ten landscape.
"It's big time for confidence," said Penn State quarterback Anthony Morelli, who was 16 of 28 for 216 yards in his most impressive outing of the season. "You get a big-time win like that against a ranked opponent in the Big Ten. That's good for us; we know we can get it done against anybody."
Wisconsin (5-2, 2-2) dropped from the top 25, losing its No. 19 ranking and opening itself to questions about its legitimacy in the conference after two consecutive losses. The Badgers, upset as the fifth-ranked team last weekend at Illinois, were off-tempo and struggled early. Penn State capitalized on Wisconsin's first-half errors and took a 24-7 lead by halftime.
Penn State defensive end Josh Gaines stripped Hill on the first play of the game, setting up the Lions for a short scoring drive from the Badgers' 12-yard line. Penn State fullback Matt Hahn capped that three-play drive with a diving 1-yard touchdown run.
"That hurts, momentum-wise, coming out of the gates with a fumble," Wisconsin quarterback Tyler Donovan said. "That obviously hurts. But you gotta find a way as an offense to bounce back."
Down 10-0 after a Kevin Kelly field goal, Wisconsin engineered a 10-play, 77-yard scoring drive. Hill, who rushed for 75 yards on 19 carries despite suffering a bruised groin last weekend, capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.
Near the end of the first quarter, Penn State again parlayed a Wisconsin turnover into points. Lions cornerback Lydell Sargeant scooped a deflected Donovan pass off David Gilreath's hands at the Wisconsin 47, setting up a quick scoring drive. It was the first of Donovan's two interceptions.
Morelli then connected with a wide-open Deon Butler on a 29-yard touchdown pass to give the Lions a 17-7 lead after the turnover. Morelli drew in Badgers cornerback Allen Langford with a pump fake that left Butler alone in the end zone.
Morelli threw with confidence, often on first down, and he didn't turn the ball over. Running backs Evan Royster and Rodney Kinlaw, who had 119 yards rushing and a touchdown on 23 carries, avoided fumbling problems that plagued Lion backs this year.
The Lions shed some of the missteps that have hurt them this season. What's more, they managed to forget about the issues off the field for at least three hours Saturday.
"They know a couple guys made some mistakes," Paterno said. "They're growing up, let me put it that way. Slow but sure. Slower than I'd like, but at least they're growing up."
