Can Cam beat the old man?

Joe Paterno has seen Jesus, Moses and probably helped write the Ten Commandments. \nThe man sidestepped dinosaurs on a recruiting trip to visit Christopher Columbus.\n Along the road, he has racked up 325 victories, 19 bowl wins, six undefeated seasons and two national championships. Cam Cameron -- at his current pace of four victories a season -- would get win No. 325 in his 82nd season. As for the national championship ... well ...\n Paterno has led the Nittany Lions to 11 or more victories in 12 seasons, coached 30 first-team All-Americans and 200 NFL players (Moses opted for Bible school rather than the NFL) and is a four-time coach of the year. \nPaterno's 325-95 record (.773 winning percentage) is nuts. Cameron has lost 36 games in 4-plus seasons. \nIn 52 seasons at Penn State, where he's spent his entire coaching career and was hired as the head coach in 1966, Paterno has been to the Fiesta Bowl six times. IU has been to eight bowl games since it started playing football in 1885. \nSince Paterno began at Penn State in 1966, IU has been through five coaches. Paterno has coached against only Bill Mallory and Cameron, and he's never lost to either. In the six Nittany Lion victories, Penn State has average nearly 40 points per game. Had Paterno faced the Hoosiers while Jesus was quarterback, it's certain the Nittany Lions would have bumped up that 40-point-per-game average.\nPenn State could use Jesus this season. At quarterback. At tailback. Anywhere. Penn State doesn\'t rank in the top 50 in the nation in any team statistic and has already lost four Big Ten games.\nEarlier this season, it looked as if Paterno would use IU as his sacrificial lamb to tie Bear Bryant's coaching victory total of 323. But, Northwestern and Ohio State obliged, leaving IU and Penn State to play a regular, old Big Ten game. \nBut, it's not so regular anymore. Not after IU beat the bejesus out of Northwestern and ripped up Michigan State. Not after IU has proven it can win in hostile environments like Camp Randall Stadium. Not after Cameron acknowledge the Hoosiers can't win playing "normal" football (remember ... NO FIELD GOALS). \nPaterno has seen damn near everything (like missed 21-yard field goals), but IU has him worried. And that's not good for a guy who's been coaching since the fall of Rome. \n"They are a good football team," Paterno said. "It should be an interesting day, I hope."\nI hope? Is grandpa rocking a tad faster in his chair? \nPaterno isn't doing well (3-5 overall, 2-4 Big Ten) to his standards -- funny how IU fans get excited at three wins and Penn State fans are heartbroken -- and Saturday, he might be without starting quarterback Zach Mills, who injured his leg in a 33-28 loss at Illinois last week. \n"I think Cam Cameron has done a good job with them," Paterno said. "They are starting to feel good about themselves. They are a little bit like we are, not that I am doing a good job. I didn't mean it that way. I meant that their kids are starting to feel better about themselves and they are playing good football."\nPaterno is right. IU is playing as well right now as it played poorly against North Carolina State, Utah, Ohio State, Illinois and Iowa. Winning in Happy Valley won't be easy, and beating a man who was friends with three-fourth of the people in the Bible, 11 popes and four T-Rexes won't be simple either.\nBut nothing about this season has been simple. (Remember Antwaan Randle El playing wide receiver?) Cameron said he watches Paterno in an attempt to learn. Saturday, he'd like to watch him lose No. 96, give Cameron win No. 17 and keep bowl hopes on life support. \nOnly 308 more victories to go. And 81 seasons.