Much like Penn State, Alabama's quarterback situation remains unsettled heading into this Saturday's contest between the two teams at Beaver Stadium. Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban chose not to pick between A.J. McCarron and Phillip Sims at his news conference on Monday, and it's anyone's guess who the Nittany Lions will face.
With that in mind, Penn State coach Joe Paterno knows his team has to prepare well for both.
"As far as knowing exactly what to expect from either quarterback, I could not say we have the answer to that right now. We don't," Paterno said at his weekly news conference on Tuesday. "We'll just have to play this thing and play it literally down-by-down, and if they alternate quarterbacks, whichever way they decide to go, we're going to have to be ready to handle whatever problems they give us."
A sophomore, McCarron is the older of the two candidates for the Tide's starting job. He completed 14 of 23 passes for 226 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions on Saturday in Alabama's 48-7 win against Kent State. Last season, he was 30-48 for 389 yards and three touchdowns in limited time.
Sims, a freshman, saw action against the Golden Flashes as well, going 7-14 for 73 yards and two interceptions.
Asked if he thinks Alabama's lack of definition at quarterback is hard to prepare for, defensive lineman Devon Still seemed unconcerned.
"We're going to approach this week as we would any other team," Still said. "We're not going to focus on what quarterback is going to be behind center, we're just going to get after it and contain whatever quarterback is behind there. Whatever happens in the game, we've just got to adjust to it."
With all the uncertainty for both teams at quarterback, this week could be pretty unique. Penn State wide receiver Derek Moye said he's never played in a game in which both teams lacked a set starting quarterback heading into the game. Now it's just a matter of seeing how it all plays out.