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Nittany Lions have
national title hopes

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For. the first time in Joe Paterno's
coaching career, the Nittany Lions were
the preseason No. 1 team in the
Associated Press poll. Of course, Penn
State has finished No. 1 twice in the
1980s and "shared" a national champi-
onship in 1994 after a 12-0 season.
This year, Paterno has the players
back to contend for the national title as
well as a pretty tame schedule - non-
conference opponents Pittsburgh,
Temple and Louisville are terrible, and
the Lions face both Michigan and Ohio
State at home.
Their toughest road game is the last
date on the schedule, a Nov. 29 matchup
with Michigan State, where Penn State
may well be playing for a shot at the
national championship.
Paterno is, as always, downplaying
Penn State's chances at making a run for
a title. But there is no doubt that the
Lions have the talent to equal their 1994
undefeated season.
Senior studs Aaron Collins and Jim
Nelson continue the tradition of out-
standing linebackers in Happy Valley
(they don't call it "Linebacker U." for
nothing). Collins, a Butkus Award candi-
date, was a second team All-Big Ten pick
a year ago with 75 tackles and five sacks.
Nelson returns as the Lions' leading
tackler with 82. Throw in super soph
Brandon Short, a starter at defensive end
last season, and Paterno has the best trio
of linebackers in the Big Ten, maybe
even the nation.

Penn State
Against Michigan: Nov. 8
Where: State College
1996 Record: 6-2 Big Ten (tie-3rd
place), 11-2 overall
Coach: Joe Paterno, 32nd season
Last meeting: Penn State 29,
Michigan 17; Nov. 16, 1996
Overall series: Penn State leads, 3-1
Key players
LB Aaron Collins, Sr.
RB Curtis Enis, Jr.
LB Jim Nelson, Sr.
Sixth-year senior safety Jason Collins,
Aaron's brother, and cornerback Shino
Prater anchor a stingy secondary. With
defensive lineman Brad Scioli returning
from a knee injury, this might be the best
Penn State defense in the 1990s.
Offensively, the Lions will ride the
capable Curtis Enis. The junior was the
conference's best all-around running
back in 1996, rushing for 1,210 yards
and 13 touchdowns. He also caught 32
passes out of the backfield.
Aaron Harris is one of the best full-
backs in the Big Ten, and though Paterno
must replace three starters on the offen-
sive line, guard Philostrowski and 6-
foot-6, 326-pound tackle John Blick are
excellent players to build around.
Penn State's biggest question mark is

AP PHOTO
Penn State quarterback Mike McQuery, the first-ever home-grown player to lead
the Lions' offense, must fill the shoes of departed signal-caller Wally Richardson.

Unwanted
rebuilding
awaits
Gophers
The aftermath of the affable Jim
Wacker's dismissal ashcoach left the
Golden Gophers with a clear mission:
No waiting to win.
"I don't like the word rebuilding,"
first-year coach Glen Mason said. "I
guess it sounds good for a new coach to
talk about it, but that's not my philoso-
phy. The seniors in this program don't
want to hear about it, either. They've
been rebuilding for a long time now. I
want us to be as good and competitive
as we can be right away."
With 43 letterwinners returning -
19 on offense, 19 on defense and five
on special teams - the Gophers seem
to have the experience. Problem is,
about all they've experienced is losing.
Minnesota was unable to win six
games last season, the low-water mark
that would have saved Wacker if
reached. The Gophers won just once in
the Big Ten, a close one against strug-
gling Illinois. In fact, they haven't had
a winning season since they were 6-5 in
1990.
If they are to get back above .500 this
year, senior quarterback Cory Sauter
will have to get some help. Sauter com-
pleted 200 passes for 2,578 yards and
14 touchdowns last season. He has a
fine receiver in Tutu Atwell, who
caught 62 passes for 822 yards and six
touchdowns last season.
The defense, however, will need to
improve drastically. Back is strong
safety Tyrone Carter (55 solo tackles
last season), defensive end Mark Cross
(28 solo) and linebacker Parc Williams
(61 solo); the rest looks porous.
Mason hasn't been shy about making
adjustments. This spring, he experi-
mented with the system on offense and
defense and moved players all over the
field. He was left talking about hard
work and attitude, however, not results.
"Everything was new to them,"
Mason said. "It was a lot different from
what they had done in the past. I think
we made some improvements in all
four areas. Like I told the players, we
are better than when we started, but we
still have a lot of work ahead of us."
-Nicholas J. Cotsonika

303 SOUTH STATE ST. BY LIBERTY*998-3480*0P

at quarterback, where Paterno must
replace departed starter Wally
Richardson. Enter fifth-year senior Mike
McQuery, who waited patiently as a
four-year backup to Richardson and
Kerry Collins.
McQuery has never started a game for
the Nittany Lions but has looked strong

in late-game appearances, and Paterno
thinks he could be a better quarterback
than Richardson was.
Penn State receivers Joe Jurevicius
and Joe Nastasi aren't flashy, but they are
both solid pass catchers with above aver-
age speed.
- John Leroi

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