Paterno's best team since the 12-0 '94 squad could give him some championship hardware for his new building

Short (right), along with Arrington and Morrison, will restore the good name of Linebacker U.   John Grieshop/Schwartzman Sports

As he took a visitor on an early-summer tour of the new $13.8 million Louis E. Lasch Football Building, Penn State's venerable 72-year-old coach, Joe Paterno, played the dual roles of proud papa and disdainful curmudgeon. He beamed as he passed through the palatial entrance hall and stuck his head in the doorway of the amphitheater that will serve as the team's meeting room. He cringed when he passed the bathroom and shower in his sprawling new office. "I need this stuff like a hole in the head," Paterno muttered. "I'm afraid my office is a little out of my comfort zone." The 90,000-square-foot building, which opened on July 1, will house all parts of the Penn State football program. It's a living monument to Paterno's 33 years as head coach, a tenure that includes 307 victories and two national championships. It's also a practical bit of planning. "All this is for the next guy," Paterno said. "So when I do decide to give it up, everything will be in place."

The building is more than a little like the team Paterno will send out to play the 1999 season: glittering but cause for the coach's customary suspicion. "We're going to be good," Paterno says. "How good, I don't know." But some of Paterno's actions betray a belief that this could be a championship year. To begin building unity, he allowed the team to elect captains for the coming season during spring practice. (Senior quarterback Kevin Thompson and senior linebacker Brandon Short were chosen.) It's the first time in more than a decade that the Nittany Lions have strayed from their practice of naming captains for each game, then electing team captains before their bowl game. Paterno also snapped up the chance to open the season in the Pigskin Classic against a strong Arizona team and has been more vigilant than usual in enforcing his policy that players live on campus. "Joe knows this can be a special year and doesn't want anything to mess it up," says one player.

Paterno won't go nearly that far. "All we've got right now," he said, "is a lot of good players."

The Nittany Lions' defense, which didn't allow a single opposing running back to gain 100 yards last year, has nine starters back. Four of them -- junior outside linebacker LaVar Arrington, senior defensive end Courtney Brown, senior cornerback David Macklin and Short -- are likely first-round NFL draft choices. Brown could go in the top five, and so could Arrington if he gives up his final year of eligibility. The 6'5", 270-pound Brown is a humble force who was unblockable by the end of last season. He finished with 11 1/2 sacks and 23 tackles for losses, yet he ends interviews by softly saying, "God bless you." Macklin craves man-to-man coverage, no surprise from someone who claims to have played Allen Iverson to a stalemate in high school basketball games in Virginia. Arrington and Short combine with steady senior Mac Morrison to form a trio that restores the good name of Linebacker U.

It is a glut of talent that rivals that of the Penn State offense of '94, when tailback Ki-Jana Carter (first), quarterback Kerry Collins (fifth) and tight end Kyle Brady (ninth) were all taken early in the first round of the draft. "Teams are going to have to shut us out to beat us," says Arrington. The defense will get a small slice of extra motivation in playing for Paterno's longtime defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky, who has announced that he will retire from coaching at the end of the season, his 32nd in Happy Valley.

Much like that '94 team, which went 12-0, won the Rose Bowl and finished second to Nebraska in both major polls, one side of the ball is an answer and the other a question. In losses last year to Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin, Penn State scored a total of 12 points. Most of the blame for the offense's failure fell at the feet of quarterback Kevin Thompson, now a senior, although Paterno also got heat for not giving more playing time to then sophomore Rashard Casey.

Thompson completed only 53.5% of his passes and threw two more interceptions (eight) than touchdowns (six). As a captain he's expected to be the starter. "He's ahead of Casey, but if Casey comes on, I'll play them both," says Paterno. Judging by Thompson's performance in season-ending wins over Michigan State (8 of 16, 103 yards, no interceptions) and Kentucky in the Outback Bowl (14 of 27, 187 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions), he could be a more mature, productive player this season. "I feel 10 years older than I was last year," says Thompson. "I had to mature, and I did. I heard some cheers, but I heard a lot of 'You suck.' That made me stronger." Thompson is just three credits short of his degree in kinesiology, which means that for his last autumn in Happy Valley he'll have little to distract him. "It's football, mainly, for this year," he says.

The quarterback will benefit from playing behind an experienced offensive line and from being able to hand the ball to sophomore running back Eric McCoo, who led the team in rushing with 822 yards, the most for a true freshman at Penn State since D.J. Dozier ran for 1,002 in 1983. Backing up McCoo is senior Cordell Mitchell, a starter until he missed the last four games of the season with a pinched nerve in his right shoulder. Receivers Corey Jones and Chafie Fields combined for 52 catches a year ago, but both suffered when reliable senior wideout Joe Nastasi was injured and defenses focused more on them. "Wideout is our biggest area to get better," says Paterno.

It's a nitpick, of course. Penn State hasn't had a better team since '94, and this one has more balance. The schedule is perfectly suited to a national title run, with the opener against Arizona, a tough nonleague road game at Miami on Sept. 18 and Ohio State and Michigan visiting State College. Expectations are deservedly high. Of course, JoePa needs those like a hole in the head.

-- Tim Layden

Fast Facts

1998 record: 9-3, 5-3, 5th in Big Ten)
Final ranking: No. 17 AP, No. 15 coaches' poll

1998 Averages Offense Defense Scoring 26.5 15.4 Rushing Yards 187.9 97.3 Passing Yards 169.0 197.3 Total Yards 356.9 294.5

Lineup

Coach: Joe Paterno
34th year at Penn State (307-80-3); Career Division I-A record: 307-80-3

OFFENSE WR Chafie Fields Sr. Name pronounced SHAW-fee LT Kareem McKenzie Jr. Imposing 6'7", 320-pounder LG Gabe Tincher Sr. Avid bass angler started 2 games C Rich Stankewicz Sr. Three-time Academic All-Big Ten RG Eric Cole Sr. Durable: took over 500 snaps RT John Blick Sr. Lost job; got it back last 7 games WR Corey Jones Sr. 27 receptions led team TE Tony Stewart Jr. 7 catches all season, 7 in Outback QB Kevin Thompson Sr. Struggled: 6 TD passes, 8 int. RB Eric McCoo So. 822 yds., 6.5 avg. as a rookie FB Mike Cerimele Jr. Powerlifting champ as a schoolboy K Travis Forney Sr. Big Ten record 5 FGs vs. Mich. St. DEFENSE LE Courtney Brown Sr. 11 1/2 sacks; 86-inch wingspan LT David Fleischhauer Sr. Unsung runstopper on flashy D RT Imani Bell Sr. Hamstring injury slowed progress RE Justin Kurpeikis Jr. One of two nonsenior starters on D OLB LaVar Arrington Jr. NFL can't wait to get him MLB Brandon Short Sr. '98 Butkus Award semifinalist OLB Mac Morrison Sr. Career-high 12 stops at Michigan CB David Macklin Sr. 6 int. tied for Big Ten best SS Derek Fox Sr. Impressive 40-inch vertical leap FS Askari Adams Sr. 30 tackles, 2 interceptions CB Anthony King Sr. 11 tackles, 3 takeaways in Outback P Pat Pidgeon Sr. 17 punts inside 20-yard line

Unless otherwise noted, all statistics are from 1998 season.

Key Games
Schedule strength: 14th of 114

Aug. 28 vs. Arizona
A strong opponent with national respect comes to Happy Valley. The perfect start to a championship run for the Nittany Lions.

Oct. 16 vs. Ohio State
In a few short years this has become one of the marquee rivalries in the Big Ten. The loser exits with little shot at the national title.

Bottom Line

If Thompson is anything better than adequate at quarterback, Paterno's dominating defense will send the Nittany Lions to the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 4 for a shot at his third national championship.