FIGHTING AGAINST THE UNSEEN

Sometimes, when people are watching you, even the most mundane tasks can become difficult. How do you feel when some well-meaning stranger asks you what time it is? (try to remember before you had cell phones and actually had to look at your analog watch and think) How about speaking or even reading in front of a large group of people? Hell, I even know guys that can't pee in a public restroom if there are other people in there.

For weeks now, and especially after the big win over the Buckeyes, Penn State fans have been clamoring and begging for some attention. Now they have their wish. The Lions' game this weekend against the Iowa Hawkeyes won't break any television rating records, but one can safely assume that almost every college football fan, and most coaches and writers, will be paying close attention to what goes down in Iowa City on Saturday. Going into Kinnick Stadium and playing against the Hawkeyes on any weekend is no mundane task, but the Lions will have to guard against a new kind of pressure this Saturday, one that's only going to grow over the team's last three games.

The number of people who think that the Lions deserve a crack at the national title this season with three games still left to play is shrinking fast. Pundits will offer that the Lions' schedule isn't as strong as some of the teams behind them in the rankings or that the Big Ten isn't deserving of a third straight representative in the title game. They'll hypothesize that Penn State couldn't stay on the field with teams like Texas, Florida or USC and that the Lions' win against Ohio State was boring and unimpressive. And they'll watch.

They'll watch to see if they're right so they can write their snooty columns and wave their fingers at the Big Ten. They'll watch to look for chinks in Penn State's armor and hope to see the Lions fall to a lesser opponent to clear the path for a sexier national championship game matchup, and they won't be alone. Fans from Gainesville, Fl to Austin, Tx to Los Angeles to Norman, Ok will be just as interested in Penn State's game against the Hawkeyes as they are about their own team's game, hoping that the Lions slip up and open the door to the title for their school.

The perceived weight of a nation full of doubters won't be the only invisible obstacle for Penn State, the lingering lethargy of a week away from live competition will have to be shaken off quickly if the Lions wish to complete their first perfect road record since 1994. Since joining the Big Ten, this year marks the 14th season that Joe Paterno has had the "benefit" of at least one bye week, but the first since 2005. In the games immediately following the previous 19 off-weeks in Big Ten play, the Lions are 13-6.

Although many of the players on this year's squad haven't yet had to deal with a regular season bye week during their career, Penn State has successfully negotiated long breaks before winning bowl games in each of the last three seasons. For those looking for a bad omen, the last two losses for Penn State after bye weeks have both come against the Iowa Hawkeyes, in 2003 and 2004.

Staying focused in the face of extra adversity is nothing new for this Lions' team. All pre-season and season long, they have had to show terrific focus when being asked about off-field transgressions or the health of their coach, and they've successfully stared down the pressure of the long losing streak to Michigan and the horrors in the Horseshoe. Through it all, the Lions have won; nine in a row to be exact. If Penn State hopes to give its coach his ninth 10-0 start, it will have to put the blinders on one more time and show distractions won't derail this team's run to a Big Ten championship.