Go ahead and take advantage of the cheap airfares now.

After all, there aren’t that many late-December flights to El Paso.

It’d be easy to talk about how bad Northwestern played in Saturday’s loss, but there’s not much to be said. NU had better players on the field than Penn State and was playing at home, but it didn’t come out with a win.

Inexcusable. Enough said.

Instead of harping on how awful NU was, it’s worth taking a look at the way things should be done. It’s what Rick Taylor and Randy Walker should pray NU can emulate one day. It is the Joe Paterno way.

The man has been at one school – one not exactly in the middle of a bustling metropolis – since he was fresh out of college. He is 74 now.

Paterno tied Paul “Bear” Bryant’s record for Division I-A career wins with his 323rd victory. His team isn’t nearly as good as it was in his first year as an assistant in 1950, when the Nittany Lions were 5-3-1. His team isn’t nearly as good as it was in his first year as a head coach in 1966, when the Lions were 5-5.

But the man still knows how to coach.

He had two weeks to prepare for Saturday’s game, and he took full advantage of the extra time – just as you might expect from someone with so much experience.

His Nittany Lions had run for barely 40 yards a game before playing NU, and Paterno knew something needed to be changed.

So he went and pulled something from an old playbook.

A 31-year-old playbook.

In 1970, Paterno’s team was having trouble running the ball. So he pulled out the Power-I formation, with three running backs stationed behind the quarterback. Penn State went on to win 15 consecutive games.

In 2001, it was a case of same problem, same answer.

“We had a couple of days off,” Paterno explained. “And I got fooling around trying to figure out something – and I remembered that.”

But Paterno wouldn’t take credit for the victory, even a historic one like this. After all, it isn’t his way.

“The record – I had never even thought about it,” he said afterward, repeating a refrain he’s been saying since the questions about passing Bryant first popped up nearly two years ago. “I feel great for the kids. I thought they played better, worked hard.”

Paterno is as old school as they come. And he also represents all that is right in college football.

While other coaches micromanage, Paterno stalks the sidelines without a headset.

Other programs entice recruits with girls, Heisman dreams and sometimes less-than-legal monetary benefits. But Paterno has been known to rely on a different strategy: His wife, Sue, bakes cookies for the youngsters.

After Saturday’s win, Paterno’s fatigue nearly masked his joy. The face was wrinkled, the glasses thicker. His head spent much of his postgame news conference resting in his hand as he fielded question after question about the record.

But Paterno maintains that he wants to coach as long as he is physically able – and he has earned that right.

Who cares if he wins or loses? For as long as he’s in the game, Paterno will still be setting an example for everyone in the game to follow. He will still command the respect of his peers – an ultimate sign of his greatness.

College football has changed quite a bit since he got to Penn State, but Paterno has ensured that some things remain the same in his program. Players graduate, they turn out to be upstanding citizens – and they talk about how much they love their coach.

Now, even if he won’t admit to taking much enjoyment from this win – other than a “good stiff bourbon” – he should know that people have all the more reason to respect his work and his life.

Years ago, the gentlemanly coach penned an autobiography called, “Paterno: By the Book.”

On Saturday, he started to rewrite another – the record book.

Glenn Kasses is a Medill junior. He can be reached at [email protected].