Published: October 13, 2008 11:49 pm            

Eric Knopsnyder | Lions must know their history

Think Joe Paterno’s going to have his squad ready for Saturday’s game with Michigan?

The third-ranked Nittany Lions have a score to settle with the Wolverines, and homecoming in Happy Valley should be the perfect place for it.

Michigan has beaten Penn State nine consecutive times, dating back to 1996. To look at it another way, Stephfon Green, Penn State’s backup running back, was 7 years old when the Nittany Lions last beat Big Blue.

Some of those nine losses are more painful than others for PennState fans.

Take 2005, for instance.

That year the Nittany Lions came out of nowhere to win their first six games, steadily gaining national respect along the way. A high-powered offense led by a versatile quarterback, combined with a stout defense made the Nittany Lions a dangerous team.

By the time Penn State squared off with Michigan in the third week of October, national title aspirations were flying around central Pennsylvania.

Sound familiar?

Paterno has once again brought his team from relative obscurity to the national spotlight. The Nittany Lions have climbed all the way to third in the latest Associated Press poll.

Running the table in the Big Ten – which doesn’t seem nearly as difficult this season as it has in past years – could thrust the Nittany Lions into the national championship game.

Of course, those Wolverines still stand in the way.

They just aren’t nearly as formidable this time around.

Rich Rodriguez’s initial season in Michigan has been a huge disappointment, with last week’s home loss to Toledo the latest stumble.

The Wolverines are a 24-point underdog this week, but it’s hard to imagine Paterno letting the Nittany Lions overlook them with so much on the line.

The replays of Mario Manningham scoring on the game’s final play to give Michigan a 27-25 victory in 2005 should provide plenty of motivation.

PennState rebounded nicely from that devastating loss, going 5-0 the rest of the way with an Orange Bowl victory over Florida State providing an exclamation point to the season.

But the players on that team, especially the ones suiting up on Saturday, will remember what might have been in 2005, and what still could be in 2008.



Eric Knopsnyder is the sports editor of The Tribune-Democrat.

        

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