The Penn State-following Rivals.com affiliate is reporting that Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen will interview for the right to follow Joe Paterno on Monday. He denied reports from earlier this week saying that he was close to a deal with PSU, claiming that rivals were planting them in the press to hurt his recruiting.

If he does end up taking the Penn State job, his "rivals planted that story" line goes into the hall of fame of infamous denials right along side Nick Saban's "I'm not going to be the Alabama coach" and Tommy Tuberville's pine box.

UPDATE, 34 MINUTES LATER

Mullen has denied the report. That was fast