'JoePa' losing Nittany Lion pride

This weekend, the Hoosiers will try to do something that's never been accomplished in school history. It's not anything similar to a national championship or a bowl game. In fact, it's not even close to beating a team like USC or Oklahoma. To make history this weekend, all IU needs to do is beat Penn State.\nOn the surface, this really doesn't appear to be too difficult a task. This season, the Nittany Lions are just 2-7 overall and have yet to win a Big Ten game. They've lost six straight games and their only two victories came over two MAC schools. Additionally, besides Penn State's two wins, the team hasn't managed to score more than 13 points against anybody. \nThese are sad times for the once great Penn State team. PSU coach Joe Paterno hasn't found much success since his team joined the Big Ten. Paterno became the all-time leader of Division I wins only to see Florida State coach Bobby Bowden pass him later that season. It seems Paterno's best days are past him, but how can you fire a legend?\nLooks can be deceiving, though. As stagnant as Penn State's offense has been, it has somewhat made up for it with a stingy defense that ranks among the best in the country. No opponent has scored more than 21 points against the Nittany Lions. Iowa only managed a mere six points when it played Penn State, though it was enough to win as the Nittany Lions were able to score just four points -- on two safeties.\nWhen you look at the records, this is yet another game that doesn't seem to matter. With both teams already eliminated from playing in the postseason, you wouldn't expect either team to play hard, but they will.\nPenn State needs to win out to prove the team is still capable of winning, thus easing the minds of the Paterno critics out there. It appears the Nittany Lions have some decent talent but haven't been able to put it together in recent years. Quarterback Zack Mills was once thought of as the next great Penn State signal caller, but so far this season, he has tossed more interceptions than touchdowns. Nonetheless, Mills is a gamer who is always capable of bringing his best.\nThe Hoosiers want to win out the rest of their schedule to end up with a 5-6 record, which would make this Gerry DiNardo's best season at IU by far and would show that the team's on the right track. Winning would also give IU some well-deserved momentum heading into next season.\nNeither team is playing for a chance at a bowl game, or even a glance at the top 25 for that matter. But both teams will fight hard to win this game because they're fighting for something more than a bowl game or ranking. These two teams will play for pride on Saturday because, at this point, it's one of the few things left to drive them. For the IU seniors, this will be last chance to take the home field, and they will do it with nothing but pride.