It's burried somewhere in the depths of these threads, but I've said before: Paterno invented the Boise State model of success.
It's humorous to think, but joining the Big Ten was probably amongst the worst decisions of his entire career. It would without a doubt be the worst decision of he didn't protect a child molester.
I like to think he was arrogant enough to truly believe he would walk into the Big Ten and dominate from day one.
I also like to think the reality of how truly mediocre he was (as revealed by his failure in the Big Ten) drove him insane.