A capsule look at Joe Paterno's weekly press conference.
Opponent: Temple (2-0)
Last time vs. Penn State: The Lions won at home last season, 22-13, and are 27-0 in the series under Paterno.
Kickoff: Saturday, noon, Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia
Television: ESPN
Line: Penn State is favored by 7 1/2, down from the opening line of 9 1/2 on Sunday.
Fact Box
Paterno Presser
Watch Cory Giger and Neil Rudel discuss all the Penn State news in the weekly Paterno Presser video at altoonamirror.com.
Look at the point spread above: This isn't the same old struggling Temple program that Penn State can expect to destroy. Sure, Paterno said, "This Temple team is the best Temple team I've ever seen, and that's in all the years we've played." But everyone knows he always talks up the opponent. The fact that last year's game was decided by just nine points -- the Owls led 13-9 at the half -- and that the oddsmakers see PSU as barely more than a touchdown favorite go to show that Temple cannot be taken lightly. JoePa said: "We had our hands full with them last year. ... They've got some size. They've got speed. They've got excellent quarterbacking. They're a good football team."
Staying grounded: The coach offered a spot-on analysis of his own team when asked if his players might be overlooking Temple. "I don't think we're in a position to be anything but run scared ourselves. ... We haven't done anything," he said. "I mean, we're not a team that was a great team last year. We went 7 and 5 last year [in regular season]." He went on to add, "I think we've got to take a good look at ourselves and say, 'Hey, we've got a ways to go.'"
QB circus continues: Paterno continues to avoid making a decision about the quarterback spot and still plans to play both Rob Bolden and Matt McGloin. "We want to play both of them for a while until we find out exactly which one we think might be better for the football team and help them win," Paterno said. "But, right now, I think it's a toss-up." JoePa also said he thought both QBs "have played well enough for us to win with" and is reluctant to pick one over the other because "It would look like as if I'm, like the other guy didn't play well."
Not all QBs' fault: Paterno repeatedly spoke about how his receivers have to stop dropping catchable passes, which has been a problem the first two weeks. He mentioned that several times Tuesday. Then, after he was told about Tom Brady throwing for 517 yards for the Patriots on Monday, Paterno joked that his receivers "caught the ball for him and ran with it after they caught it."
Sideline situation: He hasn't been healthy enough to coach from the sideline during the first two games, and Paterno still didn't look healthy enough Tuesday to make anyone think he can be down on the field against Temple. But he's still optimistic. "I hope I'm going to do it this week," he said. "I thought I could do it Saturday, but I don't move quick enough to get out of the way." He's still walking with a cane, although he once again said he can walk without it and also can walk up steps.
-- Compiled by Cory Giger
