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'Canes open with fired-up Lions

Larry Coker's first challenge at UM: an emotional scene and high stakes for legendary coach Joe Paterno.

By BOB HARIG

© St. Petersburg Times,
published September 1, 2001

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- It is both the beauty and the burden of an aspiring national champion. In college football, a September game is just as important as one in November. A loss means your fate rests in someone else's hands.

With that knowledge, the second-ranked Miami Hurricanes open at Penn State tonight in a nationally televised game in front of more than 106,000 fans at renovated Beaver Stadium.

Adam Taliaferro, who was temporarily paralyzed in a game last September, will lead the Nittany Lions onto the field in what promises to be one of the more stirring moments of the year.

Trotting somewhere behind him, black shoes and white socks for all to see, will be legendary Penn State coach Joe Paterno, 74, seeking the 323rd victory of his career, which would tie him for the all-time Division I-A lead with Paul "Bear" Bryant.

It is not exactly the ideal opening game for first-year Miami coach Larry Coker, 53. Although Penn State is coming off one of its worst seasons in Paterno's 36 years, this game certainly promises to be more of a test than a UM opener against, say, Troy State.

There is no time for the Hurricanes to ease into a new season, no time to make mistakes. A win won't make the season, but a loss sure can break it.

"I think if we get caught in an emotional battle, we're going to lose," Coker said. "I think it will be a very emotional time. I'll be applauding Adam Taliaferro. We know we're going to lose some battles. But we have to focus on the battle on the football field, the green part of it. We can't get lost in the emotion of the game."

The last time the Hurricanes faced a similar scenario happens to be the last time they lost. It was at Washington nearly a year ago, where UM got rattled, fell behind 21-3, then fell short 34-29. Quarterback Ken Dorsey showed his inexperience, completing 15 of 34 passes.

Dorsey jelled into an excellent quarterback after that, leading the Hurricanes to victories against Florida State, Virginia Tech and Florida. But other than the neutral site victory against the Gators in the Sugar Bowl, the Hurricanes have not faced as tough a road game since losing to Washington.

"The biggest thing we have to learn, no matter where you're at in the game ... the game is never over," Dorsey said. "We came back in that game (at Washington). If we're lucky enough to be up, wherever we're playing, we have to realize the other team can come back on us. But I really feel we're at that level where we can play in front of a hostile crowd and be successful."

In truth, the Nittany Lions have far more questions to answer. Instead of being national title contenders, some believe unranked Penn State again will have trouble posting a winning record.

Penn State was 5-7 last season, suffering through its second losing record since Paterno became coach in 1966. He is going with a new quarterback this season, Matt Senneca. The Nittany Lions have not posted back-to-back losing seasons since 1931-32.

"We feel like we lost that Penn State swagger," Senneca said. "We lost the respect that other teams give us when those plain uniforms come out on the field. It's a challenge to get that back."

"Let me put it this way," Paterno said of his team. "I'm very anxious to see them perform."

Paterno doesn't say much about Bryant's record, quipping that Florida State's Bobby Bowden eventually will pass him as well as "somebody with better genes."

But after expecting to get Paterno the record last season, the Nittany Lions don't want to put it off any longer.

All of which makes this an interesting test for the Hurricanes.

"Maybe it hasn't sunk in. To me, it's a game," Coker said. "Whether it's Penn State or Ohio State or whoever it is. ... I'm not thinking of it as me vs. Joe Paterno. It's an opening game. Regardless of who the team is and who the coach is, you have to eliminate that from the players.

"We've got to prepare our players as best we can to play in a tough environment. Obviously, they are Penn State. This is Coach Paterno, one of the great coaches of all time. But we've got to eliminate that scenario from the occasion."

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