STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Joe Paterno stuck his hands into the pockets of his rolled-up khakis and, perhaps seeking some lofty confirmation for the remarkable turnaround that continues to unfold in Happy Valley, sheepishly glanced at the scoreboard high above Beaver Stadium's north end zone.
  His 10th-ranked Nittany Lions were seconds away from an emphatic 35-14 victory over No. 14 Wisconsin. They were 9-1. They were now alone atop the Big Ten. A team that had endured 16 defeats the last two seasons was now just a win away from the unthinkable.
  "I think," said Paterno, who exactly a year ago heard cries of "Joe must go!" from many in a home crowd that yesterday hailed him, "we're a little better than we thought we were."
  By stifling Wisconsin tailback Brian Calhoun and connecting on several of the big plays that have become this offense's hallmark, Penn State (9-1, 6-1) now needs just a victory in its final game, Nov. 19 at Michigan State, to clinch its first Big Ten title in 11 years and its first BCS appearance ever.
  "Exactly a year ago, we were 0-6 in the Big Ten," said Paterno's son, quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno. "Joe told us not to come in on Monday. The next day, he came in and said, 'Hey, look, it's time for us to turn this thing around.' And we've gone 11-1 since then."
  The one-sided victory yesterday over a Wisconsin team that had been tied with them for first in the Big Ten again displayed all the elements that have brought the Nittany Lions back into national prominence:
  Quarterback Michael Robinson ran for 125 yards and threw for 238. He teamed with his favorite receiver, redshirt freshman Deon Butler, on scoring passes of 43 and 47 yards. In doing so, Robinson broke Kerry Collins' single-season total-yardage record.
  Tailback Tony Hunt topped 100 yards for a fifth time, accumulating 151 and touchdowns of 9 and 10 yards on 24 leg-churning carries.
  The senior-laden Lions defense held Wisconsin, which had been averaging 39.7 points a game, scoreless through three quarters. Calhoun, the Big Ten's second-leading runner, had just 38 yards on 20 rushes.
  All-American candidate Tamba Hali sacked Wisconsin quarterback John Stocco four times - his teammates added five more - and had seven tackles for losses.
  "Last year, Wisconsin said they out-toughed us," offensive tackle Levi Brown said. "We weren't going to let that happen again."
  On an emotional Senior Day, before the second-largest crowd in stadium history (109,865), Penn State clearly was determined to avenge the physical whipping it got from the Badgers (8-2, 5-2) a year ago.