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By FRANK BODANI
For Public Opinion
With six games still to play in this season, Joe Paterno and his staff are down to their final chance, in a way.
They have 12 more days to at least get a swift and drastic recovery program moving in the right direction before they play again.
Because, while everything wrong with this Penn State team cannot possibly be fixed in two weeks, there are negatives that can be changed and positive trends that can be put in motion.
And it all starts with Paterno and his assistants.
Let's put this into perspective:
Joe has led several recovery projects in the past, such as after his 5-5 first season in 1966 and the 5-6 season in 1988 and after he seemed to lose touch with his team during the 7-5 disappointment in 1992.
Most notable was the stretch from 2000 through 2004 where recruiting bombed and the offense looked lost and losses piled up so deep that athletic director Tim Curley and president Graham Spanier reportedly came to Paterno's door, basically asking for his job.
Joe rallied his staff, convinced it to stay together and to rejuvenate recruiting.
And that included a stunning 0-4 start to the 2001 season in which many wondered if the Nittany Lions would win a game all season.
Then came a bye week -- placed similarly to this one -- and an offensive revamp.
And the Lions won five of their last seven, should have won them all, really.
The coaches and players did not quit on each other then, did not put themselves before the team, did not act as if they were worried about their next jobs, did not give up on recruiting.
So here we are now, nine years later.
This, certainly, will be Joe's -- and his staff's -- last great recovery attempt.
And it certainly will be even tougher. Joe is 83 and isn't as involved in the details of the team the way he used to be. He depends on his staff in a way that no other big-time head coach does, and that makes Penn State vulnerable.
What happens when Joe leaves practice early and the players are left with the assistants to run things? Or when he doesn't fly home with his team? Who's in charge? Who is still hungry to make this team better?
Because while graduating key stars made this team vulnerable from the beginning and an unprecedented crush of injuries has derailed it now, the most disturbing vibe from this 3-3 start is that some players appear to have given up.
Even defensive coordinator Tom Bradley and tailback Evan Royster admitted as much after Saturday's loss to Illinois -- arguably their most embarrassing home loss since joining the Big Ten.
And a big part of the blame for that is on the coaches.
The ones who knew there were player leadership problems in the summer and didn't conquer them. The ones who are relying on a true freshman quarterback and a sketchy offensive line and still haven't fully committed to scheming around it, to changing style and philosophy.
So now they have 12 more days.
They need to push and inspire and come together like never before.
Because they owe at least as much to the university and their players and their fans.
Put it this way: Joe could have gone out on top, so to speak, last year or the year before, after a glorious, unexpected turnaround.
He was in his early 80s. His legend was cemented. He knew he could not give of himself the way coaches like Jim Harbaugh and Nick Saban and Jim Tressel do.
Instead, he decided to continue on his way, which is risky and unorthodox and can be viewed as selfish.
And that's fine, for one or two more years, as long as it works.
It's not right now, so the burden grows as support and confidence cracks.
The Last Great Recovery Project must prove successful enough to somehow scratch out three or four more victories in six tries.
Do it somehow, with improved heart and will, if nothing else.
Anything less would be a greater disappointment than simply not making a bowl game and falling below on-field expectations.
Far greater than that.
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Frank Bodani covers Penn State football for the York Daily Record/Sunday News. He may be reached at fbodani@ydr.com .
