Hoping to write a winning script

Paul Petrino was in a movie.

Well, sort of.

Petrino was offensive coordinator at Illinois when the Illini played at Penn State late in the 2011 season.

The year before, his first year at Illinois, the Illini became the first Illinois team to win at Penn State.

“We went back the very next year, it was the last game coach (Joe) Paterno every coached, and we lost in the very last second. We got a couple touchdowns called back, and missed a field goal to win the game.

“If you watch the movie on coach Paterno, it starts with them throwing snowballs at our kicker. I was at that game.”

Eight seasons later, Petrino brings the Idaho Vandals to State College, hoping to write a script with a winning ending in the season opener on Saturday at 106,572-seat Beaver Stadium.

It could be the largest crowd Idaho has ever played in front of — the Vandals played at LSU in 2012 before 92,177 at Tiger Stadium.

Idaho has piped in noise during its practices this week.

“It’s a giant stadium,” Petrino said of Beaver Stadium, “but it’s not as loud as some stadiums because it (the noise) tends to go away from the field.”

NOTES: Idaho released its first two-deep depth chart of the season on Monday, and Noah Gunn, a freshman from Coeur d’Alene High, is listed as the starter at quick tackle. Sophomore Nate DeGraw (Post Falls High) is listed as a backup at defensive tackle, and sophomore Kyle Perry (Sandpoint) is a backup at middle linebacker. ... Idaho will be without three players for the Penn State game — linebacker Christian Elliss, wide receiver DJ Lee and offensive lineman Sean Tulette — for violation of team rules. ... Petrino has coached in Beaver Stadium three times — while at Southern Miss (as quarterbacks coach from 2000-03), his team played at Penn State once and lost a close game.