Injuries put Penn State on the ropes

As a historian who has made quite a bit of history himself, Penn State football coach Joe Paterno undoubtedly is familiar with what Abraham Lincoln said during his famous speech of June 16, 1858, in which he accepted the Illinois Republican party's nomination to represent his home state in the race for a U.S. Senate seat he would lose to Stephen A. Douglas.

"A house divided against itself cannot stand," Lincoln said.

Following its 33-13 homecoming thumping by, ironically, Illinois, Paterno's house appears to be edging toward the sort of internal division that can nudge a season on the brink into the abyss.

With their second straight defeat, the Nittany Lions are 3-3 overall, 0-2 in the Big Ten Conference, and even a much-needed bye week won't cure all the ills facing a painfully young, injury-wracked team that somehow must shore up its more obvious stress points before it resumes play at Minnesota (1-5, 0-2) on Oct. 23.

"We've got a lot of work to do," Paterno said yesterday during the Big Ten weekly coaches' teleconference. "It's doable, but it's going to take a lot of commitment by a lot of people."

After five highly successful to moderately successful seasons - Penn State went 11-1 in 2005, 9-4 in both 2006 and '07, 11-2 in both 2008 and '09 - the Nits' flaws have been not only exposed, but accentuated by a rash of injuries not seen in Happy Valley since . . . well, Paterno and the school's medical staff can't quite remember a year with which to compare it.

Big-play wide receiver Curtis Drake went out with a fractured left tibia during preseason practice. Week by week, he has been joined by other injured players whom Paterno and his coaching staff had counted on to make vital contributions. Last week's major additions to the list were a pair of starters, free safety Nick Sukay (torn pectoral muscle) and defensive end Eric Latimore (broken left wrist). Sukay is not expected to return this season, while Latimore is out a minimum of 2 weeks. The other starting defensive end, Jack Crawford, has a lingering ankle problem that might require surgery. By the conclusion of the Illinois debacle, injuries and suspensions had sidelined 11 players, a situation not apt to improve anytime soon.

"Most of the people you saw leave the game are gone," Paterno said. "They won't be back for Minnesota.

"Some of the guys we thought would step to the front have gotten injured. Our medical people who have been with us a long time said this is the worst [injury] situation in the 24 years they've been here."

Depleted or not, inexperienced or not, Penn State must figure out a way to get its act together for a killer second half of the schedule in which the Golden Gophers appear to be the best hope for the 83-year-old Paterno's 398th career victory. Until further notice, put that celebration of Paterno becoming the first Football Bowl Subdivision coach to enter the 400-win club on hold.

"I haven't thought of that," he said when asked about his chances of getting No. 400 this season.

What concerns Paterno more than anything are reports of bickering by players who seek to place the blame for a disappointing campaign on someone besides themselves.

"Anytime you start pointing fingers, it certainly doesn't help," said Paterno, who appears to have adopted a more conciliatory approach in the wake of a pitched fit after the Alabama game that didn't produce the desired result. "I'm not sure how much of that we're having. As you know, I very rarely read the papers, particularly the sports page. I don't want to be influenced by anything.

"But if there is finger-pointing, I think that is detrimental. It doesn't help. I don't know how accurate [the reports are], but if it is, it's something that we've got to address this week." *