When Miami and Penn State meet in the season opener Sept. 1, Joe Paterno will be looking for a record 323rd career victory. Hurricanes coach Larry Coker will be looking for his first.
|  | | Larry Coker, left, helped Miami return to national prominence as an assistant. But now he's looking for his first victory as a head coach. |
"That's a little mind-boggling for that to be the opening game against Joe Paterno," Coker said of Paterno, who will tie Bear Bryant's Division I-A record. "I just want him to get (the record) next week and let us get our first."
As if that isn't daunting enough, the game will be played in renovated Beaver Stadium, its capacity expanded to 106,537. It will be broadcast on national television. At night. And once-paralyzed Nittany Lion Adam Taliaferro will lead his teammates out of the tunnel.
Not to be overlooked is the fact the Nittany Lions enter the season unranked for the first time since 1985. That year, they competed for the national title.
Nevertheless, Coker said he plans to treat the game like the others on the Hurricanes' schedule. No special speeches. No special preparations. Just consistency.
"Let's put reality into it," Coker said. "I understand this is a big game for them and that Coach Paterno could tie the record. I understand all these things. But it isn't going to change anything that we do."
Like Coker, Paterno is well aware of the hype surrounding the game. With so many intangibles seemingly weighing in Penn State's favor, Paterno said he is concerned his team will get too high for kickoff and allow Miami's talent to take over as the game wears on.
"Loudness is great when you're playing well," Paterno said. "You can walk in that stadium and everything is exciting until somebody knocks you on your rear end. And then you are not going to realize where you are or what is happening to you except that the guy in front of you is beating up on you."
Former Miami coach Butch Davis stressed to his assistants the importance of maintaining a consistent approach each week. Otherwise, a change in routine can rattle the players. Coker said he plans to maintain that same philosophy now that he has inherited the program when Davis left to become head coach of the Cleveland Brown. So aside from preparing for Penn State's schemes, which Coker faced for three years as an assistant at Ohio State, nothing will be different.
"It would be a little more intimidating had I not been at Ohio State and played them twice," Coker said. "They have a tradition-rich program fighting for respect. But we're just going to go in there and play solid, hard-nosed football like we know how."
Wayne Drehs is a staff writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at wayne.drehs@espn.com.
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