Penn State

Deion Barnes said it was all about the "comfortability factor. " And that played in favor of Penn State, not Georgia. In an announcement Thursday morning in his school's auditorium, the hard-charging defensive end from Northeast High committed to play for the Nittany Lions. Georgia was the runner-up for his services. "I wasn't an outcast when I went down to Georgia, but I felt like I was around 'my guys' when I went to Penn State," said Barnes, a 6-foot-5, 222-pound senior. "That was a big thing for me. " Barnes, celebrating his 18th birthday, said he had "been battling all week, going back and forth" between Penn State and Georgia, which he visited last weekend.

At his weekly meeting with the media yesterday on the Temple campus, Owls football coach Al Golden recounted a 1987 sit-down he and a few other incoming freshmen had with Penn State coach Joe Paterno. "He lied to us," Golden said with a laugh. "He told us we were going to be his last recruiting class. " Now, 20 years later, Paterno is in his 42d year at Penn State, and he will bring his squad to Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday to face Golden and his Owls in a nonleague game.

All but the most optimistic of Penn State observers felt the Nittany Lions would complete their first five games at 3-2, with the losses coming on the road against ranked teams. But while they're on schedule as far as their record, the Lions are facing an uphill climb because certain areas of their team - the offense in general, the offensive line in particular - have not shown much improvement through five games. Penn State, which fell out of the top 25 in the rankings for the first time since October 2007, failed to score a touchdown for the second time this season in its 24-3 loss at No. 15 Iowa.

Joe Paterno had gone three months without speaking to the media because of a stubborn illness, so the questions to Penn State's 83-year-old head coach came quickly at the Big Ten football media day earlier this week. How do you feel? What do you think of the conference adding Nebraska as a member? What's your thought on reaching 400 career wins? How long do you want to continue to coach? Will you have a say as to your successor? Or as the anchor of the Big Ten Network's four-plus hours of coverage lamented following Paterno's news conference, "There wasn't one question asking him about his football team.

Who: No. 7 Temple vs. No. 10 Penn State What: NCAA First Round (West Region), McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz. When: 2:10 p.m. TV/Radio: TNT/WPHT (1210-AM) History: Temple leads the series, 59-32. The teams played last season and the season before that. Temple won both, including 45-42 last season. How they got here: Temple (at large from Atlantic 10), Penn State (at large from Big Ten) Coaches: Fran Dunphy (Temple)

Chris Marrone did more than eat breakfast with coach Joe Paterno yesterday morning. He gave him a pledge. Marrone, a 6-3, 260-pound offensive lineman from St. John Neumann, made an oral commitment to Paterno and Penn State's football program and said he would make it official when the national signing period begins Feb. 3. Marrone's other visit was to Louisville. He has canceled trips to Pitt, UCLA and Wake Forest. "It was kind of easy, actually," Marrone said. "Once I got to Penn State (last Friday)

Fifteen years ago, Debbie Ryan, who is now the women's basketball coach at Virginia, danced at the wedding of Rene Portland, now Penn State's coach. Tonight is Portland's wedding anniversary. "But I guess this time, Debbie and I will be on opposite sides of the dance floor," Portland said. Tonight, Portland's fourth-ranked Lions (8-0) play Ryan's top-ranked Cavaliers (11-0) in what will be Penn State's first chance to achieve a No. 1 ranking in the weekly poll of women's coaches.

IOWA CITY, Iowa - The Iowa fans that stayed until the final minutes would not let up. They stood, some 10 feet behind the Nittany Lion sideline, and continued to heckle. "Enjoy your bowl game!" one man shouted. "Send me a postcard from Florida," a woman yelled, before she laughed at her own joke. But when it was all over, it was the Penn State players who ran into the locker room, smiling. The Hawkeyes and their fans were left wondering what happened. Matt McGloin passed for two touchdowns, and Bill Belton ran for three more as Penn State (5-2, 3-0 Big Ten)

Should the NCAA slap Penn State with a one-year "death penalty," barring the university's football team from competition? That's the question that has been on many lips since former FBI Director Louis Freeh released his report detailing university officials' cover-up of child sexual abuse by former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. But it's the wrong question. The issue isn't what should be done to Penn State; it's what Penn State should do. And the answer is as clear as Nittany Lion blue: Penn State should forfeit one season of its own accord — before the NCAA or anyone else makes the decision for it. Worshipful habits That's what Florida A&M University did to its famous marching band following the death of drum major Robert Champion last year.

What a difference a day can make. No. 9 Penn State looked invincible, knocking down jumpers from all over the floor in Saturday's win over St. Joseph's. Yesterday, it was Duke that looked unbeatable, shutting down Penn State's shooters on the way to a 63-49 victory over the Lady Lions in the Duke Women's Basketball Classic in Durham, N.C. "This was a huge win for us, and it feels great," Duke's Gail Goestenkors said. "Penn State is an incredibly good team, and we were worried about this game.