Joe Paterno played football in the pre-facemask days, and now he's advocating a return to prevent head injuries.

"I've been saying for 15 years we ought to get rid of the facemask," the Penn State coach said. "Then you go back to shoulder blocking, shoulder tackling, and you wouldn't have all those heroes out there."

Paterno waded into the discussion on the Big Ten coaches' teleconference Tuesday, when he was asked about helmet-to-helmet hits. The NFL this week fined three players for what it termed "flagrant violations of player safety rules" and said future dangerous hits could result in suspensions.

Of the facemask, Paterno said its presence turned the helmet into a weapon as players worry less about cracked teeth and broken noses. Instead of tackling with their shoulders, Paterno said, players lead with the helmet.

"Those helmets are so heavy that kids are in the weight room building up their necks and everything else," Paterno said. "The game has changed. It used to be shoulders. Now it's heads."

Penn State focused on the run game during the bye week, guard Stefen Wisniewski said, with the intent of establishing it against Minnesota. "We need to find an identity on offense," Wisniewski said, "and we want running the ball to be a big part of our identity."

Jeff Horton, Minnesota's interim coach, said he expects TCF Bank Stadium to be "rocking" for Saturday's game against the Nittany Lions. He'll have some competition for crowds: President Obama is scheduled to speak at a rally at 1 p.m. CST on Minnesota's campus. Kickoff for the Penn State-Minnesota game is scheduled for 11 a.m.

Minnesota quarterback Adam Weber needs 100 yards to become the fifth Big Ten quarterback to reach 10,000 career yards passing. He would join Purdue's Drew Brees and Curtis Painter, Northwestern's Brett Basanez and Iowa's Chuck Long in reaching the milestone.

Like Penn State, Ohio State has been hit by a rash of defensive injuries. Linebacker Ross Homan, the team's leading tackler, is out for Saturday's game against Purdue with a foot injury, and defensive back Christian Bryant is out with an infection. Defensive backs Tyler Moeller and C.J. Barnett were sidelined earlier with season-ending injuries.

Michigan has the week off before visiting Penn State next Saturday, and coach Rich Rodriguez promised that quarterback Denard Robinson will start at Beaver Stadium. Robinson left last week's Iowa game after he aggravated a shoulder injury, which Rodriguez said he expected to heal by Oct. 30. Tate Forcier finished the Iowa game.

"I find it amusing that people even question whether we have a quarterback controversy," Rodriguez said. "Denard Robinson is our starter." Robinson ranks second nationally with 2,415 yards of total offense and is responsible for 18 touchdowns, eight more than Penn State has scored this season.

The Big Ten's game of the week pits No. 13 Wisconsin vs. No. 15 Iowa in a duel between title contenders. Iowa essentially can eliminate Wisconsin (2-1 Big Ten) with a victory, while the Badgers are looking for back-to-back wins over ranked teams for the second time in six years. Last week, Wisconsin beat Ohio State 31-18, its first victory over a No. 1 opponent since 1981.

Paterno spoke to Rutgers coach Greg Schiano about the injury to defensive tackle Eric LeGrand. The defensive tackle was paralyzed from the neck down while making a tackle last week. Paterno said former Penn State player Adam Taliaferro, who recovered from a spinal injury 10 years ago, is involved as well.

"Adam had a marvelous recovery," Paterno said. "He's a lawyer; he's getting married in about three weeks. … It will be tough for [Schiano] and the team, no matter how you twist it. I just tried to encourage him and tell them to hang in there."