Just minutes before kickoff of the season-defining game at Iowa, a golf cart emerged from the southeast tunnel of Kinnick Stadium and worked its way around the field, heading towards the awaiting press box elevator. As the cart came to a stop, out stepped the Hall of Fame coach, cane in hand as he walked slowly and cautiously, one unstable step at a time, to his perch in the coaching booth above.

The legendary coach, who always prided himself on being an active demonstrator during his practices, who paced the sidelines on game days and who never let an official make a questionable call without receiving a barrage of Brooklynese criticism, was now forced into an unnatural position, something his legs had trouble comprehending. He had to sit and watch, with a headset as his only way to communicate with his players, as his Nittany Lions put their perfect season and national title hopes on the line.

JoePa in the Hall

After 42 seasons, 23 bowl victories, two national championships, five perfect seasons and 372 wins, Penn State coach Joe Paterno took his place alongside the greats from college football's history.

On July 19, Paterno was enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame, more than two years after being named in the class of 2006.

Paterno's enshrinement was delayed a year after a broken leg, suffered during a 2006 game at Wisconsin, kept him from attending that year's ceremonies.

Paterno said the honor was as much about his players and coaches as it was about his longevity.

"I appreciate the fact that people have said, 'Hey, you've been an asset to college football and we want to acknowledge that,' " Paterno said. "If you hang around long enough they have to do something with you. It's a great honor.

"I've been fortunate that I've had a university that was a good support to me. I had a lot of really outstanding football coaches who taught me how to coach and I've been lucky to have a lot of people around me. So I look at it as something that's maybe a little bit more for the institution, for the guys at Penn State football."

Bit by the (flu) bug

It all started after Penn State's 24-17 win over Texas A&M in last year's Alamo Bowl.

With the Lions' coming off of a 9-4 season and third consecutive bowl win, Paterno was eager to hit the recruiting trail to try to secure another class that would once again propel his team into national championship consideration.

Except there was one problem. Paterno was bedridden for more than two weeks in early January as he fought a bout of the flu. But Paterno recovered and appeared fine during the Blue-White game in late April.

Less than a month later, however, an ambulance was called to Paterno's house on May 15 and the 81-year-old coach was taken to the hospital where he was treated for dehydration and released.

The next day, Paterno was in Texas for an event honoring Longhorns coach Mack Brown. At the event, Paterno dismissed the hospital visit as simply a precaution.

"I'm not a kid anymore," Paterno said on May 16. "The minute you don't feel good, people get nervous. They took me over to the hospital. I said 'What in God's name am I going to do over there? I feel good.' "

As he made trips to support the Nittany Lion Club, Paterno joked about the dehydration, saying his wife, Sue, was making sure he drank enough Gatorade and kept up on his fluid intake.

But his two bouts of illness in less than six months raised questions about his health and his coaching future.

When asked about it during the summer, Paterno simply said he "hadn't even thought of it."

"I obviously get tired of answering the same question, 'When are you going to retire?' when I don't know and I don't know what to say," Paterno said. "I'd like to retire when I feel as if I cannot make a contribution to Penn State. I'm very obligated to the university...and I want to get out of it when I think it's appropriate.

"I'm having a lot of fun and I don't want the get out of it but yet I don't want to be too stupid that I go so far that I'm not going to be able to do it the way I like."

Outside the Lines

With the start of the season a little more than a month away, ESPN aired a piece on its show "Outside the Lines," detailing recent discipline and legal problems that had hampered the Penn State football program since 2002.

The report, which aired on July 27, stated the Lion program, which prides itself on "Success with honor," had 46 football players that had faced a combined 163 criminal charges since 2002. The report also said 27 players had been convicted or pled guilty to 45 counts.

The show also interviewed Paterno and questioned him about the status of his program. Paterno admitted the program may have made a "mistake or two," in judging recruits, but said he felt the report was a "witch hunt."

"Obviously, we made some mistakes," Paterno said. "You know, maybe I've overreacted in the sense that I think they exploited a couple things. But, yeah, we made mistakes. I tried to do the best I could to make sure that the team learned from it."

The report also said the program had sent text messages to players telling them to not talk with any member of Penn State Judicial Affairs before meeting with the coaching staff.

Paterno flatly denied those reports, adding, he doesn't "even know how to send a text message."

Team captain A.Q. Shipley, who was not involved in any of the off-field incidents, said the report upset some members of the squad, adding most of them wanted the focus to be shifted back to football instead of off-the-field matters.

"It happened a year and a half ago, how many times can we rehash old stuff?" Shipley said. "When are we going to drop it? The fact that it keeps getting brought up, can we move on? Can we talk about football?

"Guys faced the consequences, they paid the penalties, they did what they had to do and we've moved on from there."

Three days after the show's airing, defensive tackles Chris Baker and Phil Taylor were kicked off the team for an undisclosed reason. Baker and Taylor had been suspended by Paterno and disciplined by the university stemming from off-the-field incidents in 2007.

When asked if their dismissal was a reaction to the "Outside the Lines" piece, Paterno said, "absolutely not," adding he felt his on-camera interview was not fair.

"I told them how I felt. I wasn't quite pleased with the attitude that they had in the interview, and let it go at that." Paterno said. "What is done is done, what happened with ESPN and that particular show, whether I handled a couple kids right or wrong, it's done. I can't do anything about it.

"Hopefully I learned from what I had something to do with, but we'll see. Hopefully we'll be better."

Hip check

During practice the week before the season opener against Coastal Carolina, Paterno was demonstrating an onside kick. As he went to kick the ball, his right leg twisted awkwardly.

But Paterno was there, running out of the tunnel with his team for the Aug. 30 opener. He showed no serious ill signs, aside from a limp favoring his right leg, until halftime of the Temple game.

After shaking hands with Temple coach Al Golden at midfield before the game and coaching the first half from the sidelines, Paterno headed to the press box, where he stayed for the remainder of the game.

After that game, Paterno said his leg was OK and he chose to coach the second half from the press box because the game was already in hand and he wanted to remain healthy for the rest of the season.

"I just stand on it too long, and it aches. But, you know, I'm probably babying myself," Paterno said. "I could have gone down in the second half on Saturday if I wanted to. But I figured we've got a lot of football ahead of us, and maybe I will take it easier upstairs."

The following week against Illinois, Paterno, as he had predicted during his press conference earlier in the week, coached the entire game from the sideline.

With so much uncertainty surrounding their head coach, the Lions were still able to jump out to a 9-0 start. Senior safety Anthony Scirrotto said that was attributed to the workman-like attitude Paterno instilled in his players.

"We're here for one reason, that's to play a football game," Scirrotto said. "Whether he's on the sideline or not, we're doing the same things."

But when the Lions traveled to Purdue for their Big Ten road opener on Oct. 4, Paterno once again found himself analyzing the game from above. He has remained in the press box ever since.

The injury has limited Paterno in practice as well. Confined to a cart, he isn't able to participate in drills with the players as he once did. But quarterback Daryll Clark said Paterno is still as vocal as ever and the cart actually allows him to get around the practice field quicker.

"His leg's been bothering him for a little while and we're worried about him," Clark said. "But he's still there at practice doing what he can."

After meeting with team doctors during the Lions' bye week in early November, Paterno said he would wait until after the season to get "fixed up," but would never specify what needed fixed.

Penn State football historian Lou Prato said the only way he thinks Paterno wouldn't return would be if he wasn't in good health.

"I don't think Joe's going to leave on his own unless there are some health issues involved," Prato said.

After the Indiana game on Nov. 16, Paterno clarified the injury and how doctors would most likely "fix" it, adding his ultimate goal is to return to the sidelines.

"I probably have to get a hip replacement surgery or something like that," Paterno said. "It's the hip, probably a little arthritis in it. I want to get back on the field. I expect to be back on the field."

The future?

With Paterno watching from the pressbox above, Iowa kicker Daniel Murray's game-winning field goal attempt sailed trough the uprights and into the Iowa night, all but shattering any hopes the Lions had for a national championship.

As Hawkeye fans spilled onto the field, Paterno got up from his chair and made his way to the elevator to take the ride back to the locker room to console his team.

The perfect ending, complete with Paterno being carried off the field in his final game with his third national championship, had been ruined.

The speculation had turned to whether Paterno would return for his 44th season at head coach in Happy Valley. His contract runs out at the end of the season and any potential negotiations won't take place until after the season.

But negotiations or not (Paterno has said he would potentially coach without a contract), senior captain Josh Gaines said he thinks Paterno will be back.

"I really feel like he's not going anywhere, he'll probably be here for another 10 years," Gaines said. "With Joe you'll never know. If he's sick you won't know it. If he's hurting you won't know it. If he's thinking about something you won't know it. The only thing's he's gonna focus on is football and winning games."

When asked about his future plans and if he plans on returning next season, Paterno offered another of his patented vague answers.

"Have I ever said I wasn't coming back?" Paterno said.

And as far as today potentially being his last game in Beaver Stadium, Paterno said fans should worry about the players on the field battling for a Big Ten championship, not their octogenarian coach seated above the stadium in the press box.

If he doesn't know and isn't concerned with what the future may hold, the fans shouldn't worry either, Paterno said.

"Come to the game and enjoy it," Paterno said.

"I don't think they should be coming because they think it's my last game."