The Nittany Lions Are No. 1--for Now

Joe Paterno and his Big Ten coaching colleagues can stop growling about being shortchanged in the polls: Penn State will start the season as the No. 1 team in college football.

For the first time in school history, the Nittany Lions received top billing in The Associated Press preseason poll. Since the AP preseason poll began in 1950, the highest ranking Penn State could muster was No. 3--in 1969 and 1978.

“It will be great for the fans and I think the kids will enjoy it too,” Paterno said. “Of course, it’s a good news, bad news thing. It’s nice to be recognized, but it sets you up like a sitting duck. I hope we are prepared to handle it.”

Penn State received 21 first-place votes and 1,566 points from the 70 sports writers and broadcasters who vote in the poll, edging No. 2 Florida, the defending national champion, by 18 points.

Then came Florida State, Washington, Tennessee, Nebraska, North Carolina, Colorado, Ohio State and LSU. USC is 22nd; UCLA is unranked.