Paterno, Alvarez battle last time

The winner will have an edge in the race for the Big Ten crown and a BCS bid.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- As sorry as Joe Paterno is to see Barry Alvarez get out of coaching, there's at least one thing that makes him happy about his friend's departure from the Wisconsin sidelines.
"He has been a good coach," Paterno said about Alvarez, who is 5-3 against Penn State in his career. "He kicked our ears most of the time. That part I won't miss."
Alvarez could get his sixth career win against Paterno when the 14th-ranked Badgers (8-1, 5-1 Big Ten) visit No. 10 Penn State (8-1, 5-1) today in a game that will give the winning team an edge in the race for the conference crown and a BCS bid.
Stepping
Alvarez, who is stepping down as coach after the season but will stay on as Wisconsin athletic director, is making his last trip to State College, about a four-hour drive from his childhood home in Burgettstown, Pa.
It's also the last home game for 23 Penn State seniors, a class that rebounded from losing records in the previous two seasons to lead the Nittany Lions to this year's comeback campaign.
"If that doesn't get your motor running, there's something wrong," Alvarez said about the overall hype leading into the game. "And that's why I try to stay away from building the game up. You don't have to."
Wisconsin boasts the league's highest-scoring offense (39.7 points a game), an efficient quarterback in John Stocco -- who has twice as many touchdowns (15) as interceptions (7) -- and two senior starters at wide receiver in Brandon Williams (four TDs) and Jonathan Orr (six TDs).
The star
But the star of the Badger show is tailback Brian Calhoun, whose 135 rushing yards per game is fifth-best in Division I-A.
Calhoun, a transfer from Colorado, ran for five touchdowns last week against Illinois and is a threat in the passing game, too, having caught two scores the week before. He can burn defenses once he is in the open field.
"We have to keep [Calhoun] contained," said defensive end Tamba Hali, the team leader with seven sacks and 11 tackles for a loss. "If he gets around the defensive end, he has enough speed to get six or seven yards every time."
The Nittany Lions aren't pushovers; they allow a Big Ten-low 16.1 points a contest behind Hali, an athletic group of linebackers and a veteran secondary. They give up just 104 yards a game on the ground, the 12th-stingiest run defense in the nation.
"They're fun to watch," Alvarez said. "They really are for someone who really likes to watch good defensive football."
Defense deficient
Defense hasn't been a strong suit for Wisconsin, which gives up 426 yards a game, 97th out of 117 Division I-A teams. Alvarez said it's been difficult to put together a consistent effort on defense in part because of injuries.
Quarterback Michael Robinson leads a balanced Penn State offense that is fourth in the Big Ten in scoring at 35.7 points a game. A fifth-year senior, Robinson has thrown for 13 touchdowns, run for 10 scores and can keep drives alive with his mobility.
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