Paterno, Penn St. both need a win

The coaching Bowdens are coming off losses, Joe Paterno is desperate for a win and Fresno State is rooting for Oregon State to beat UCLA.

College football is back in full swing this weekend, with all Top 25 teams in action and six games with both schools ranked in the AP poll.

Stadium security remains tight in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but winning games becomes important again -- beginning with Clemson at No. 9 Georgia Tech and Wake Forest at No. 18 Florida State.

Coach Bobby Bowden's Seminoles (2-1, 1-1 ACC) try to regroup against Wake Forest (2-1, 0-1) after a 41-9 loss at North Carolina. It was Florida State's worst regular-season defeat since Auburn won 59-27 in 1985.

"You just hope we can recover from it," Bowden said. "It will be interesting to see how we respond."

Bowden's son, Tommy, hopes Clemson (2-1, 0-1 ACC) is up to the task when it visits Georgia Tech (3-0, 0-0). The Tigers were upset by Virginia 26-24 last week.

"It's a game we have to win if we want to win the conference," he said. "You won't do it with two losses. In that regard, it's a must win."

Paterno, in his 36th year as coach at Penn State, is becoming frustrated with his team's inability to win. The Nittany Lions (0-2, 0-1 Big Ten) are at improving Iowa (2-0, 0-0).

JoePa still needs one win to equal Bear Bryant's major college record of 323. "I'm angry," he said. "I don't like to lose."

A different road ahead

The way his team has played, the prospect of two wins isn't promising. After the Hawkeyes, who average 47.5 points per game, Penn State's next five games are against Michigan, Northwestern, Ohio State, Southern Mississippi and Illinois.

And then there's No. 10 Fresno State (4-0, 1-0 WAC), which seems less worried about beating Louisiana Tech (1-1, 1-0) and more concerned about 19th-ranked Oregon State (1-1) beating 12th-ranked UCLA (3-0) in a Pac-10 game.

The Bulldogs figure it this way: Any time a team they have beaten wins, it boosts their chances of finishing high enough in the final BCS standings to earn a bid to a Bowl Championship Series game -- the Rose, Orange, Fiesta or Sugar bowls.

"If Oregon State puts it on UCLA, then that can help," Fresno State coach Pat Hill said. "If we win 13 in a row and our quarterback (David Carr) continues on a pace he's on, there's no question we should be in a BCS game."

Fresno State beat Oregon State 44-24 on Sept. 2.

Top 25 games

In other Top 25 games today, it's No. 21 Mississippi State at No. 2 Florida, No. 11 Kansas State at No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 Nebraska at Missouri, Texas Tech at No. 5 Texas, No. 6 Oregon at Utah State, No. 14 LSU at No. 7 Tennessee, Central Florida at No. 8 Virginia Tech, No. 13 Washington at California, Alabama at No. 15 South Carolina, No. 23 Michigan State at No. 16 Northwestern, No. 22 Illinois at No. 17 Michigan, No. 20 BYU at UNLV, No. 24 Purdue at Minnesota, and Northern Illinois at No. 25 Toledo.

No. 1 Miami played Pittsburgh on Thursday night.

At Tallahassee, Fla., the Seminoles send out freshman quarterback Chris Rix again with hopes he can generate a bunch of touchdowns. The running game was shut down by North Carolina, so expect Bowden to open up the offense.

Florida State enters the game with a 36-game home winning streak -- tops in the nation. Next up -- Miami on Oct. 13.

Georgia Tech, now the team to beat in the ACC, discovers what it's like to be the hunted when Clemson comes to town. "The focus is on us now," Tech receiver Kerry Watkins said.

The game features two top quarterbacks in Tech's George Godsey and the Tigers' Woodrow Dantlzer.

Godsey is the nation's most efficient passer at 37 of 51 for 604 yards and four TDs, while Dantzler is averaging 259 yards of offense per game.

Three Southeastern Conference games feature Top 25 teams looking to avenge losses from a year ago.

South Carolina, 27-17 losers at 'Bama last season, are looking to beat the Tide for the first time. The Gamecocks have lost all 10 meetings.

"The emotions against South Carolina are going to be high," 'Bama coach Dennis Franchione said. "They are playing confidently and they placed a high importance on this game."