Joe Pa isn’t worried about whether or not Chad Henne plays at QB for Michigan.
“For all I know, they could put [RB Mike] Hart at quarterback, or direct-snap the ball right to him,” Paterno said at his weekly teleconference Tuesday.
“I don’t think you [prepare for two QBs]. I think you worry about what kind of team Michigan really has, with Hart and their wideouts and a very, very fine offensive line. Henne is good, and he’s experienced, and he’s played very well against us. Whether he’s gonna play…”
Pretty uneventful chat this week. Joe did reveal that while he never coached against Bo Schembechler, he did get a call from Schembechler right after Penn State got in the Big Ten, Bo charging that Penn State had sneaked in without a proper vote of the presidents.
“He started screaming and ranting at me, and I started screaming and ranting at him…. I always liked Bo.”
On newsier matters: OG John Shaw will probably not play with a knee injury. In his place, true freshman Stefan Wisniewski will play, although, “you wish you had somebody with a little more experience.”
Free safety Tony Davis missed much of the Buffalo game with a shoulder problem, Paterno said Davis would play. Mark Rubin, the former wideout, replaced Davis last week.
Paterno said both Austin Scott and Rodney Kinlaw would play, as usual, at tailback. Scott had been benched after fumbling twice in the first half against Buffalo, and Kinlaw delivered a career-best, 129-yard game.
“I thought it was a good idea to sit Austin down. He gets a little careless with the football, and I wanted to make a point,” Joe said.
Minnesota lost to Florida Atlantic last week. Duke ended a 22-game losing streak by beating Northwestern. Iowa lost to Iowa State, which came in 0-2. Wisconsin has had mighty struggles with UNLV and, swear to God, the Citadel.
None of which means the Big Ten is necessarily down, according to JoePa.
“The teams I’m looking at… I think Michigan is a heck of a team even though they’re 1-2. Somebody’s got to tell me what’s up, what’s down, what’s in between. We won’t know until we play for a while.”
He’s right, actually. People get too excited about early-September games. Purdue has pounded three stiffs. Who knows about them? Or Michigan State, the perennial wild card? Ohio State is chugging along nicely.
It seems pretty clear that Northwestern and Minnesota are bad, just in time to drop off Penn State’s schedule. They’re not only the two best road trips in the league but, at least for now, the easiest wins…
