Penn St. cruises as Paterno returns to sideline

Published Sep. 6, 2009 12:32 a.m. ET

foxsports

The most compelling part of Penn State's 31-7 win Saturday over Akron turned out to be the pregame introductions.

Joe Paterno jogged out of the Beaver Stadium tunnel with his players, his first game back on the sideline since the Hall of Fame coach had hip replacement surgery last November.

Then quarterback Daryll Clark and the rest of the No. 9 Nittany Lions overwhelmed the Zips in a first half so dominant, the rest of the game was a mere formality.

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Clark threw for career-highs of 353 yards and three touchdowns, and a tenacious defense held Akron without a first down until the third quarter as Penn State celebrated its 82-year-old leader's return to the field.

"Did you clock me in the 100 meters?" Paterno jokingly asked afterward.

Wearing his trademark black sneakers and khakis - without the pants rolled up - Paterno struck familiar poses pacing the sideline and arguing with officials.

This marks his 60th season at Penn State - 16 as an assistant and the next 44 as the man in charge - and he walked off the field with his 384th victory, now two ahead of Florida State's Bobby Bowden. The Seminoles play Monday night.

Paterno's apparently healthy again, too. He spent the last seven games of the 2008 season coaching on game days from various press boxes, ailing from a hip he hurt while demonstrating an onside kick a year ago.

"I just wanted to see if I could do it. I've been reluctant to do much running because it's been less than a year since they replaced the hip," he said. "I was glad I could come out ... but I hope as the season goes on it will be a little better."

Penn State left no doubt on the field they were the better team.

The defense held Akron to 186 yards total offense, 28 on the ground. The Zips managed a paltry 22 total yards and minus-17 rushing in a dismal first half.

Penn State's defense had Akron quarterback Chris Jacquemain on the run most of the day, recording 13 tackles for losses and four sacks.

"They're the best defense we're going to see all year," Akron quarterback Chris Jacquemain said. "They got a lot of pressure on me. I kind of expected that, but we couldn't handle it at times."

Akron didn't record a first down until the third quarter, with Penn State leading by 31.