Like Penn State, Alabama undecided on quarterback

Joe Paterno isn't the only coach involved in Saturday's football game at Beaver Stadium who is undecided on a starting quarterback.

Alabama coach Nick Saban is conducting the same type of debate within his coaching staff and suggested Monday that both of his quarterbacks will play for the No. 2 Crimson Tide in their contest against the Nittany Lions.

Redshirt sophomore AJ McCarron had the better numbers - 14 completions in 23 attempts for 226 yards and a touchdown - in the Tide's 48-7 victory Saturday over Kent State. Redshirt freshman Phillip Sims went 7 of 14 for 73 yards. Each quarterback threw a pair of interceptions.

In his weekly news conference, Saban said he "would continue to develop" both quarterbacks during the week, but he kept his options open.

"Later in the week," Saban said, "as we see how the two guys practice, we're going to make a determination as to which guy will give us the best opportunity in this particular game, or if there is some combination of the two that would be helpful and useful to us. We'll look at the option of doing that."

The 84-year-old Paterno has been reflecting on a No. 1 quarterback since the spring. Sophomore Rob Bolden, the starter, and junior Matt McGloin both played in Saturday's 41-7 victory over Indiana State. McGloin, who was in on nine fewer snaps than Bolden, had a statistical advantage and led the Lions to three touchdowns, to one for Bolden.

After the game, Paterno said both may play against Alabama.

The teams will be playing the second game of a home-and-home series. Alabama dominated last season's game, winning 24-3 in muggy, stifling conditions at Tuscaloosa, but Saban said the Crimson Tide would see a different Penn State team.

"They have more experience," he said. "Their quarterbacks are playing better, which is probably the biggest key offensively. The strength of their team on offense is probably their three returning receivers. They have seven starters back on defense plus a couple of other guys that started or played in the past.

"So this is more of a veteran team in terms of the experience that they have. They traditionally play very well at home. They haven't lost many games to nonconference opponents at home for a long time. So there are a lot of challenges here for us. But we have to play on the road for the first time, and this will be a good experience for us down the road."

Powell honored. Senior cornerback Chaz Powell, who returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown to spark the Lions' rout of Indiana State, was named Big Ten co-special teams player of the week. He shared the honor with Nebraska kicker Brett Maher.