updated 11:39 p.m. ET Nov. 21, 2008

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - With a trip to the Rose Bowl on the line this Saturday when the No. 7 Nittany Lions face Michigan State, Penn State coach Joe Paterno may have inadvertently turned the focus back onto his pending future at a campus rally Friday night.

The 81-year-old — whose contract expires after this, his record 43rd season as head coach — dropped another hint that he's thinking of returning in 2009. At the pep rally, during which his eyes appeared to tear up at times, Paterno said into a microphone "When I’ve walked out of that stadium, when I can run out on that field, which I will do next year — run out on that field!"

Hobbled by a sore hip that may require surgery next week, the feisty Paterno usually stays vague when talking about the future, though he’s never talked about quitting.

Paterno will work from the press box for Michigan State — as he’s done most of this season — and he’s not sure how soon he can get back to the sideline after surgery.

Penn State will play a veritable Big Ten championship game on Saturday when No. 17 Michigan State visits Happy Valley.

Win and the Nittany Lions clinch a spot in the Rose Bowl.

If the Spartans (9-2, 6-1) win, they’ll still need Ohio State to be upset by Michigan to secure the trip to Pasadena.

“This is probably the biggest game I’ve been in and all of us have played in since we’ve been here,” Penn State senior safety Anthony Scirrotto said. “These are the kind of games you come here to play.”

The Big Ten doesn’t play a true title game, and Penn State (10-1, 6-1) only joined the conference in 1993 after years as an independent.

So Saturday’s game will be the first time a championship will be on the line in the 48-year history of Beaver Stadium.

The forecast for Saturday afternoon calls for temperatures in the upper 20s with snow showers possible and light winds.

Perfect weather for a running game. Scirrotto calls it “ground and pound” season, ideal for physical Big Ten football.

Ideal for a guy like Michigan State tailback Javon Ringer.

Third in the nation with 140.7 yards per game, Ringer has burned opponents for 20 rushing touchdowns. The senior hopes his class has laid the foundation for future success for the Spartans and second-year coach Mark Dantonio.

“The coaches were pretty smart when they said sooner or later we would be playing for a championship, because now it is coming true,” Ringer said. “This is not going to be a one-year wonder because there is so much talent behind our senior class, and Lord willing we will continue to be successful in the future.”

First there’s Penn State to take care of, though, no small task considering the Nittany Lions feature the Big Ten’s best rush defense (101.5 yards per game).

Defensive end Josh Gaines calls the 5-foot-9, 202-pound Ringer “explosive and stronger than an ox” running behind a big offensive line. Gaines was limited last week against Indiana because of a sore ankle, but that won’t keep the senior captain from the field this weekend.

“Oh yeah, I’m playing,” Gaines said. “The Big 10 championship? I’m playing for that.”

Most preseason prognosticators didn’t figure Michigan State-Penn State as a contest that could decide the conference representative in the Rose Bowl. The Big Ten schedule usually pits the two schools together in the last game of the regular season to decide the “Land Grant Trophy.”

The stakes are a bit higher this year.

Besides that, a sellout crowd of at least 109,000 is expected to rock Beaver Stadium to celebrate the final home game of Scirrotto, Gaines, receiver Derrick Williams and 14 other Penn State seniors.

“The atmosphere will be electric, I’m sure. It always is over there. It will be something I’m sure our players will remember for the rest of their lives,” Dantonio said.

A win for Penn State would allow the school to join Michigan, Notre Dame, Texas, Nebraska and Ohio State as programs with at least 800 wins. Paterno has guided the Nittany Lions to 382 victories, first among major college coaches.

“Penn State is always bringing in talent, and personally I don’t think Joe Paterno is going anywhere,” Ringer said. “People love to play for him ... so this will not be a one-year wonder for them either.”

He just hopes it’s Michigan State, not Penn State, that ends up at the Rose Bowl.

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