UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State coach Joe Paterno arrived at his news conference two days ago with a game plan.

He had it printed on a piece of paper and tucked away in his suit jacket.

Paterno knew it would not take long for someone to ask why No. 14 Penn State was playing Division I-AA Eastern Illinois Saturday at Beaver Stadium during a one-week break from the Big Ten Conference schedule.

He proceeded to reel off a list of Division I-A teams -- Michigan, Florida, Miami, Oklahoma, Alabama, etc. -- that have played Division I-AA teams this season.

"We had an open date," Paterno said. "We had a chance to play 12 games, which means money so we can support the other 28 sports on this campus. You go around and you try to get somebody that will be appropriate."

Eastern Illinois (4-1) is ranked No. 25 in both Division I-AA polls. The Panthers, who compete in the Ohio Valley Conference, are facing a team from the Big Ten for the fourth time since 2006.

They will be paid $450,000 -- the biggest payday in school history -- for their game against the Nittany Lions. The payout will push Eastern Illinois' total revenue to $1.3 million for games against Division I-A competition in the past four years.

"It's almost necessary these days to play a [Division I-A] team yearly," Eastern Illinois coach Bob Spoo said. "We get a pretty good payday out of it, and it's pretty good for our entire program."

Penn State already owns three wins against non-conference Division I-A opponents at home this season -- Akron (31-7), Syracuse (28-7) and Temple (31-6) -- but Paterno bristled when asked if fans should pay the same price for Eastern Illinois tickets as they do for Ohio State.

"That's up to them, stop belaboring the question," Paterno said. "Is it worth it for you coming to the game? That's your decision. Don't get me into that will you? For crying out loud, we're playing a good football team.

"I don't know what you mean by an opponent such as Eastern Illinois. I think Eastern Illinois is a good, solid football team. You can put all the quotes 'A, AA, below BCS, above BCS' -- I can't follow all that stuff. I had trouble with the alphabet when I was a kid."

The NCAA expanded schedules from 11 to 12 regular-season games in 2006. The rules also were altered to allow a win against a Division I-AA school to count toward a team's six victories, making it bowl eligible.

The Nittany Lions are playing a Division I-AA team for the third time in the past four seasons. They trounced Youngstown State, 37-3, in 2006, and Coastal Carolina, 66-10, in the opener last year.

"I would obviously prefer an open date [this week] if we had one," Paterno said.

"I think after you've gone as far as we've gone and you're banged up, we're banged up, you would like to have an open date.

"But, if we had to keep the 12 games, which all of a sudden was made available, and we were trying to get as many home games as we could. I mean, we wanted at least seven and we ended up with eight.

"I would prefer we played the 12th game the week after we play Michigan State [Nov. 21]."

Wide receiver Derek Moye from Rochester High School said the temporary break in the Big Ten schedule is "not something we look forward to," but he said he wouldn't take Eastern Illinois lightly.

"A game is a game," he said. "I'm always happy when I'm out there playing football."

NOTES -- Backup linebacker Michael Zordich yesterday waived his right to a preliminary hearing at the Centre County Courthouse on charges of driving under the influence and driving without his headlights. An attorney did not represent Zordich, a redshirt freshman from Canfield, Ohio. His pre-trial conference has been set for Jan. 21. The DUI charge is a misdemeanor and driving without headlights is a summary offense. He has one tackle in five games. ... With right tackle Nerraw McCormack (ankle) doubtful for the game Saturday, former starter DeOn'tae Pannell and Ako Poti have been taking snaps with the first-team offense.

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