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STATE COLLEGE, Pennsylvania (Ticker) -- Joe Paterno continues to reach milestones, although none is the one he wants. The legendary coach and his Penn State program sank to new depths with a 20-0 Big Ten Conference loss to No. 15 Michigan, Paterno's first home shutout loss in his storied career. "Happy Valley" is anything but as the Nittany Lions have lost their first four games for the first time in the program's history. It also marks the first four-game losing streak for Paterno, who remains one win shy of Bear Bryant's Division I-A mark of 323 coaching victories. Penn State (0-4, 0-3 Big Ten) was totally inept, particularly in the first half, when it surrendered four sacks and managed minus-6 rushing yards. It moved the ball a bit better in the second half but was held scoreless at home for the first time since 1965. Paterno took over the following year. Michigan (4-1, 2-0) did not bring the band to Happy Valley but brought its defense, which had two intercpetions and a fumble recovery while holding Penn State to 269 yards. John Navarre completed 17-of-31 passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns and B.J. Askew rushed for 122 yards on 27 carries for the Wolverines, who improved to 6-3 in the all-time series. Penn State had the first big defensive play as linebacker Tom Williams stopped Jermaine Gonzalez on 4th-and-goal from the 2. But Michigan got back the ball and Hayden Epstein kicked a 28-yard field goal with 2:41 left in the first quarter. Epstein added a 41-yarder on Michigan's next possession and Penn State's offense continued to sputter. Zack Mills took three sacks and fumbled over the next three possessions. The Lions could not cash in on a fumbled punt by Ron Bellamy as Robbie Gould missed a 35-yard field goal with 2:43 left in the first half. Navarre put together an 80-yard drive in 55 seconds, completing 5-of-7 pases for 58 yards after Askew's 20-yard run. His 16-yard TD toss to Marquise Walker made it 13-0 with 12 seconds remaining. Four plays after the second-half kickoff, Navarre found Bellamy behind two defensive backs and hit him with a 53-yard TD pass. Bellamy caught two passes for 86 yards and Walker had nine for 85. Mills was 21-of-38 for 244 yards. Bryant Johnson caught five passes for 104 yards.
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