JoePa prowling sideline again
Anxious and feisty, Joe Paterno paced up and down while his defense swarmed all over the field. Things are back to normal in Happy Valley. True to his word, JoePa returned to the Penn State sidelines Saturday for the first time since breaking his left leg last year. Wearing his trademark black sneakers and rolled-up khakis, Paterno, 80, started his record-breaking 42nd season as head coach and the No. 17 Nittany Lions routed Florida International 59-0. A cart took Paterno off the field at Wisconsin last November after two players ran into him on the sideline in a violent collision. He spent the next week at home while recovering from surgery — missing a game for the first time since 1977.
— AP
Hokies feel weight of opener
In the tunnel before the game, linebacker Xavier Adibi was surprised by how hard it all hit him. “Man, I just got goose bumps,” the Virginia Tech captain said. “I just turned back and told my teammates, ‘We’re playing for all 32 families. Give it your all.'” The No. 9 Hokies did that, beating East Carolina 17-7. But they appeared overwhelmed by the burden of rallying a school recovering from the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. The 32 victims of April’s campus massacre were honored in a pregame ceremony, which was followed by a sluggish performance. “We’re not magical healers or anything,” QB Sean Glennon said. “The most we can do is show that we’re giving every ounce of effort.”
— AP
Harbaugh has work to do
Jim Harbaugh can blame Ben Olson for spoiling his debut at Stanford. The UCLA quarterback threw three of his five touchdown passes after halftime in the visiting No. 14 Bruins’ 45-17 rout of the Cardinal — at the stadium across the street from where Harbaugh went to high school. The ex-Bears quarterback’s imprint on Stanford’s offense was evident as the Cardinal moved the ball much better than they did in a 1-11 season a year ago that led to Walt Harris’ firing. “I don’t think the score was very indicative of how we played,” Harbaugh said. “I believe we have a football team now.” But Harbaugh still has a long way to go to make Stanford a winner as the defense gave up 624 total yards.
— AP
