Joe Paterno has seen it all.

In his 44th season as Penn State’s head coach, Paterno has seen his program go through ups and downs.

Right now, the fifth-ranked Nittany Lions are in the midst of a successful run, serving as the reigning conference champions and returning to national prominence.

But the one blemish sitting uneasy among those in State College, Pa., is Penn State’s 24-23 loss at Iowa last season.

Saturday night, the Nittany Lions have an opportunity to seek payback against the Hawkeyes. But Paterno isn’t taking anything for granted, saying the team coming into Beaver Stadium to play his squad is a good one.

“They play the way the game should be played, and I think that’s got to be attributed to the fact that that’s the way Kirk [Ferentz] is,” Paterno said during Tuesday’s Big Ten football teleconference.

Indiana

Of the five teams in the Big Ten currently unbeaten, the 3-0 record raising the most eyebrows is Indiana’s.

Despite being picked to finish near the cellar, the Hoosiers have beaten the likes of Eastern Kentucky, Western Michigan, and Akron. The win over the Zips came on the road, 38-21.

Getting a road victory out of conference can only benefit Indiana as it enters the Big House on Saturday to play No. 23 Michigan. This marks the first meeting between the two schools since 2006.

“Our guys are just excited to get into Big Ten play,” Indiana head coach Bill Lynch said. “We got to keep getting better, and take care of ourselves, and know that the opening game in the Big Ten is a big game for both teams.”

Michigan

The Wolverines, on the other hand, don’t have nearly as surprising an unbeaten mark as their upcoming opponent. Michigan has played all three of its games thus far in Ann Arbor, with this weekend’s game against Indiana being no different.

After climbing into the AP top 25 with their 38-34 win over rival Notre Dame on Sept. 12, the Wolverines built off the stunning victory and blew out intrastate rival Eastern Michigan, 45-17.

“I think we’re further along than we were four weeks ago and certainly further along than we were a year ago, but we’re still a work in progress,” Rodriguez said during Tuesday’s Big Ten football teleconference. “We’re getting closer and closer to having more answers.”

Wisconsin

The only unbeaten Big Ten squad not playing another undefeated team this weekend is Bret Bielema’s Wisconsin Badgers. Like Michigan, the Badgers have played all their games thus far at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis., and this week’s game against Michigan State will be no different.

Instead of facing an undefeated group of Spartans, however, Wisconsin will play a team coming off two-straight heartbreaking losses by a total of five points to Central Michigan and Notre Dame.

“I think up front, they’ll be the stiffest test to us to this point,” Bielema said during Tuesday’s Big Ten football teleconference. “I’m excited to see how our guys respond and go into the game on Saturday.”