Joe Paterno won’t come right out and say that Saturday’s non-league game against FCS (Div. I-AA) Eastern Illinois isn’t coming at a very good time for his program, but it really is. Following a momentum-building 35-17 win at Illinois, the No. 14 Nittany Lions really would have benefited from getting right back into the heart of the Big Ten race while it is seemingly on a roll. A bye week right now wouldn’t hurt either because PSU is kind of battered.

Taking on an underdog from a lower division is just about the least advantageous scenario you can think of. Let’s be honest: this game has absolutely no up-side for Penn State. An easy win is expected. A loss would be a complete disaster. A closer than expected win will only hurt PSU’s reputation.

And it’s pretty obvious reading between the lines to see where Paterno weights in on the issue. He was unusually testy and sensitive when questioned on Tuesday about why his team is playing this opponent.

“We had an open date,” he said, voice rising. “We had a chance to play 12 games. All right? Which means money so we can support the other 28 sports on this campus. All right?”

So this is purely about money?

Paterno then went through a lengthy list of other major programs to play Div. I-AA opponents this season. But what he didn’t address is that Penn State’s non-conference slate has already been so ridiculously non-competitive this year, it has already had an adverse effect. There is strong argument to be made that one of the reasons the Lions failed so spectacularly in the last three quarters against Iowa because they just weren’t prepared for the heightened level of play. While PSU was beating up on Akron, Syracuse and Temple, the Hawkeyes blasted Iowa State of the Big 12, on the road, and then topped Arizona of the Pac-10.

It was also telling that Paterno stated openly that a bye week right about now would be preferable.

“I would obviously prefer an open date if we can have one,” he said. “I think after you've gone as far as we've gone (pre-season and five games) and you're banged up -- and we're banged up -- you would like to have an open date.”

For the next two seasons, Penn State has a home-and-home non-conference set with Alabama, which will certainly get the Lions ready for the rigors of conference competition. But Eastern Illinois – played in the middle of the conference schedule – isn’t going to help at all, except for one thing: another big payday because 100,000-plus will show up no matter who is the opponent. -- NEIL GEOGHEGAN.