Ohio State coach Jim Tressel was born in 1952, two years after Joe Paterno joined the Penn State coaching staff as a 23-year-old assistant earning $3,600 a season.

Tressel was in the seventh grade in 1966 when Paterno won his debut as the Nittany Lions' head coach against Maryland.

Paterno later got to know Tressel as a teenager when he tagged along with his dad, Lee, to various coaching clinics.

At one point, Paterno entertained the idea of hiring the younger Tressel as an assistant coach.

When Tressel accepted his first head coaching job at Youngstown State in 1986, Paterno was on his way to a second national championship.

The two successful coaches will cross paths again Saturday night when Tressel brings No. 1 Ohio State to Beaver Stadium to take on Paterno and Penn State. The Nittany Lions climbed back into The Associated Press poll yesterday at No. 24.

Despite being 26 years Paterno's junior, Tressel said the 80-year-old Penn State coach is not showing any signs of slowing down heading into this week's nationally televised showdown.

"Joe's legendary," Tressel said. "You look at the people on the all-time coaching ranks who are active now, and there's Bobby [Bowden] and Joe, and then who? Yeah, Joe's special.

"I shouldn't say he's a once-in-a-lifetime guy, because Bobby's still coaching, but Joe's incredible."

Paterno is the second-winningest coach in Division I-A history, with 369 victories in 42 seasons at Penn State.

Tressel has won 205 games in 22 seasons. He has a 70-14 mark in seven years at Ohio State after spending his first 15 at Division I-AA Youngstown State from 1986-2000.

Tressel and Paterno are in an elite group. They are two of only four active major college coaches with 200 or more career victories, joining Florida State's Bowden (370) and Virginia Tech's Frank Beamer (204).

Tressel said Paterno still carries plenty of clout among his contemporaries.

"You turn to Joe for listening because of his years and his production," Tressel said. "A person can be around for a long time and not have done anything. But he's been around a long time and he's done it all. So, absolutely we turn to him.

"He's watched the history of this game unfold, he's watched the movement of this game through the years, and he's been such an advisor for all of us. He's been an athletic director. Thank goodness he's still coaching at 80.

"He gives us the opportunity to pick his brain."

Tressel, who played quarterback for his father at Baldwin-Wallace College in suburban Cleveland, said he sought Paterno's input when he was being considered for the athletic director's job at Youngstown State more than a decade ago.

"I called Joe and he gave me great advice," Tressel said. "He said, 'Do it, but don't do it long, because it will wear on you.' He was exactly right. I did it seven years. I probably should have cut it shorter."

Ohio State (8-0, 4-0 Big Ten) has won a school-record 26 consecutive regular-season games, including 18 in a row in the Big Ten.

The Buckeyes have not lost a regular-season game since falling, 17-10, to Penn State (6-2, 3-2) at Beaver Stadium Oct. 8, 2005.

"We're going to have our hands full," Paterno said of Ohio State.

Tressel already has a handful of national championship rings in his collection case.

In 2002, he led Ohio State to its first title in 34 years and he guided Youngstown State to four Division I-AA crowns.

The Nittany Lions have won 19 of their past 20 home games dating to the final game of the 2004 season.

"We've been tested all year," Tressel said. "Everybody that plays Ohio State is going to bring their A-game. The tests we've taken so far, we've passed. We've got a big one coming up at the end of this week and we'll see how we can make out with that one."

Paterno's contract expires at the end of next season, but Tressel wouldn't be surprised to see Paterno coach beyond that.

"Penn State's a great place and Joe's a great coach," said Tressel, who has a 4-2 record against Paterno. "Joe will move onto the next phase of his life when he feels like it, not when everybody else feels like he should."