COLUMBUS -- You don't have to remind Ohio State cornerback Dustin Fox the Buckeyes are 1-4 in Happy Valley since Penn State joined the Big Ten in 1993.

He knows. He's been there for all of them -- as a spectator when his brother Derek was a recruit and then a safety for the Lions and, two years ago, as a participant when the Buckeyes blew a 27-9 lead, handing coach Joe Paterno his then-record 324th victory.

That's one reason Saturday's return trip is special to Fox. Being on a first-name basis with the legend on the other sideline is another.

"It's so weird because I grew up going to every (Penn State home) game for four years of my life," the Canton native said. "It's just weird going back there to play against them. It's cool, though, because I know the coaches and everybody there pretty well."

Fox remembers being in the Beaver Stadium stands in 1995 when the Buckeyes won 28-25 and Eddie George continued his run to the Heisman Trophy. That victory was particularly sweet because it came one year after OSU suffered a 63-14 thrashing in the same setting.

"I don't know why we have such a hard time there," Fox said. "I've only played there once ... and it wasn't fun."

Despite his long ties with Penn State and his friendship with "Joe," that didn't make OSU's meltdown and Paterno's milestone of two years ago any easier for Fox to swallow.

"I was just a little freshman," he said. "We were winning 27-9 and I was thinking, `Man, this is great. I almost went to Penn State and now we're kicking their butt.' So it was cool. All of a sudden they came back and beat us.

"I would have been so happy for Joe, but I was so distraught because we lost. But that's OK because we won the national championship last year."

It doesn't surprise Fox that Paterno has no plans of stepping down any time soon, even though he's 77 and under fire with the Lions in the throes of their third losing season in four years.

"To me, Joe will be coaching until he dies," Fox said. "That's the way it should be. He's done so much. Sometimes teams have down years. That's how it goes."

As for Derek Fox, now a sales representative in the Canton suburb of Louisville, he'll be sitting in the Penn State cheering section Saturday.

"But he'll be in neutral colors," Dustin Fox said, grinning. "He'll be cheering for me, believe me."

Originally published Friday, October 31, 2003