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 Sunday, October 21, 2001
Penn State grew up
By Jack Arute
Special to ABC Sports Online
EVANSTON, Ill. -- When I talked to Joe Paterno after the game, I could sense a bit of relief, but it had nothing to do with hitting 323. It was fairly evident that he didn't care about that. He was just happy to get off the snide.
|  | | Joe Paterno lets out a smile after tying Bear Bryant's record for career wins. |
Joe has always maintained that the record doesn't mean a lot to him. I heard a coach once say that if you stay a place long enough, you are bound to break records for winning because you stayed there so long. With Joe, it was more of a relief to see his team win.
Before the game, he said he had no complaints about the way the kids practiced and that things were starting to come together, but that he needed to find some individual leadership and see kids step up and willing to make plays. That is what happened Saturday against Northwestern. He was ecstatic at the end of the game because it is exactly what he saw. For him, that was the sense of relief. It had nothing to do with equaling Bear Bryant's record. You could see his eyes light up when I said to him, "It's a win, Coach."
The leadership he was looking for came from quarterback Matt Senneca. He showed some toughness. Then when Napoleon Harris knocked Senneca out of the game, Zack Mills showed leadership of a different kind by leading a storybook drive at the end.
You listen to guys who played quarterback. Everyone rides the pine, spends time on the bench. Everyone always says the best quarterback on a college team is the one that is playing backup because they are the one that everyone wants to see when things go wrong. Mills stepped in, and he took command. He marched them down the field. Because he is lefty and they could throw to the left more than with Senneca, it probably dealt the cards a little differently and it gave them a slight edge on that drive.
One change that Penn State made this week was moving Omar Easy to fullback. They sell Joe Paterno golf balls at Penn State. They say they are good golf balls because they are guaranteed to go straight up the middle. Penn State went to the type of football that we are used to seeing.
The most gratifying part of the game was when the Penn State players realized they could win this game. On the third series, the defense got together and realized it and started to play hard. In the middle of the second quarter, the offense realized it. It was like a virus sweep over this team, as they realized that they had a shot.
The team was excited. The players weren't relieved because any possibility of relief evaporated during the course of the game. They knew they could play with Northwestern. They earned this victory. It was very workmanlike.
Brent Musburger and I talked after the game and agreed that this is a bigger win after the attacks on Sept. 11 because it stands for old-time values. It was nice to see Joe get the record, but it didn't mean much to Joe other than he has a squad that could win some games the rest of the way.
It's not out of the realm of the possibility that they could win at least four more games. A lot will depend on how they react in their next game. This team grew up against Northwestern. It's a possibility if they continue to play and grow as they did in these 60 minutes.
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 Joe Paterno is glad to get the win for the team.
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