Paterno recalls ’82 team to inspire PSU

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — In times of adversity, not many coaches can draw upon six decades of experience at the same school. Joe Paterno never runs out of tales to boost his players’ spirits.

This week’s offering comes from 1982. The Nittany Lions’ only loss that season came early at Alabama, and Paterno recounted Tuesday how the Crimson Tide scored a touchdown off a blocked kick. But Penn State finished that season on a seven-game winning streak to claim the national championship.

JoePa’s point? All hope isn’t lost in Happy Valley after then-unranked Iowa upset No. 15 Penn State, 21-10 last week.

“That’s going to be on our mind as the season progresses,” linebacker Josh Hull said Tuesday after Paterno recounted the same story to the players in the days following the loss to Iowa.

The Nittany Lions (3-1, 0-1 Big Ten) will try to rebound this weekend when they hit the road for the first time in 2009 with a trip to Illinois.

Practice so far this week has gone well, Paterno said.

“We’ve got to find out if we’ve got some fighters. It’s a simple as that,” Paterno said. “If you get knocked down, you feel sorry for yourself. You get up angry. I think they’ll be angry. I think we’ll do well.”

Iowa put a severe dent into the plans of many die-hard blue-and-white fans hoping to go to this year’s national title game after Penn State peaked at No. 5 last week in the AP Top 25.

“Obviously, no one wants to get licked, but I think there are things that can be learned from it,” Paterno said.

Iowa controlled Penn State’s offensive line the last three quarters of the game, and quarterback Daryll Clark often didn’t have much time to throw. Clark appeared to be out of sync when he did have time.