Paterno will remain sheriff in this town

Walt Moody

This is what Joe Paterno doesn’t want.

As his Nittany Lions close their regular season with a Rose Bowl berth on the line today, the focus this past week has been on their coach.

The speculation is that after 43 years of leading the Penn State football program, Paterno may coach his last game at Beaver Stadium in today’s game against Michigan State. There are all sorts of rumors of the Paterno family being brought in for JoePa’s possible swan song at Beaver Stadium.

Well, here’s someone that’s not buying it.

While it may be hard to imagine a Brooklyn guy back in the Old West, humor us for this example.

Imagine the great television series “Gunsmoke.” Now who is the Marshall Matt Dillon of Happy Valley? It’s only one guy and Paterno wears the star. But thanks to a hip problem that could require surgery next week, Paterno is limping around Dodge City like deputy Chester Goode. He’s stuck in the press box and away from the sidelines he loved to prowl over his legendary career.

If more unforeseen health problems are not a concern, does anyone really expect Paterno’s last game at Beaver Stadium to be coached from high above the playing surface?

Does anyone really expect Paterno to limp off into the sunset --- especially after his team came one second away from an unbeaten season and a possible shot at the BCS title game?

What seems to concern Paterno most right now is football team, which ironically has limped down the month-long stretch to close the regular season.

The offense, so mighty the first part of the season, has sputtered like Jack Benny’s Maxwell. It needed a gift fumble to score a touchdown at Ohio State, wasted several chances in the red zone at Iowa and wheezed like Benny’s Maxwell for the first half against a pitiful Indiana defense last Saturday.

Quarterback Daryll Clark, the reason the offense looked so good early, appears to have a crisis of confidence, certainly not helped by two fumbles and an interception against Indiana.

It’s not just the offense. The defense failed to hold a nine-point fourth quarter lead at Iowa, letting average quarterback Ricky Stanzi lead a game-winning drive. And after stopping Ohio State’s Beanie Wells, the defense couldn’t handle the Hawkeyes’ talented Shonn Greene.

Throw in a couple of field goal misses from the usually reliable Kevin Kelly over the last couple of games and you’ve got a team that arguably is playing its worst football of the season.

Michigan State has the talent to put more of a damper on what has been a remarkable season. The Spartans feature a big-time power runner in Javon Ringer (who is in the same class with Greene) and a solid quarterback in Brian Hoyer (much better than Stanzi).

The magnitude of this contest is not lost on Paterno, who has coached in just one Rose Bowl. He wants a win and doesn’t want distractions.

As far as Paterno’s retirement, it’s well known that he doesn’t have a contract after the season. But like Marshall Dillon, Paterno holds all of the bullets. No matter how much the administration may or may not want him to wave goodbye, Paterno has even more leverage after his team’s outstanding season.

Paterno said a couple of weeks ago that he wants to get the surgery done so he can get back to recruiting. Unless that was disinformation, it doesn’t sound like he’s ready hang up those black Nikes.

Take his advice and enjoy the game and celebrate a special class of seniors. We’ll only know when he’s ready to ride off into the sunset when he’s good and ready to let us know.

Walt Moody is sports editor for the Centre Daily Times. He can be reached at 231-4630 or wmoody@centredaily.com.