Because of a concussion, senior Zack Mills is likely to miss Penn State's game Saturday at Ohio State.

Because of Mills' injury, junior Michael Robinson is likely to start at quarterback.

Because "he's not adequately prepared," coach Joe Paterno said freshman Anthony Morelli is likely to remain on the bench.

Last week, Mills and Robinson played and struggled, combining for nine completions and four interceptions on 28 passes. Now, with Mills out and Morelli still unprepared, the Lions' options under center are limited.

"Robinson will be at quarterback," Paterno said.

Though Penn State could not determine when it happened, Mills suffered a concussion Saturday in Penn State's 6-4 loss to Iowa. A hit from Iowa's George Lewis in the third quarter knocked Mills from the game, but that was just one of several knockdowns of the Penn State quarterback. Paterno said even before the final hit, Mills at times seemed disoriented and had trouble reading signals.

He has been held out of practice since, creating a chance for Robinson -- a backup quarterback who doubles as one of Penn State's starting wide receivers. If Robinson must start at quarterback, another receiver, likely freshman Mark Rubin, will start alongside senior Gerald Smith. Assuming Smith plays. After missing last week's game with a hamstring injury, Smith is listed as probable.

"Now we are back to where we have to get somebody else to replace Michael Robinson as a wideout," Paterno said. "Those kinds of things bother me. We have to be ready for ... somebody else to start at the flanker."

Holding the line
After Saturday's game, Penn State tackle Levi Brown sidled up to Robinson with an apology.

"I made rookie mistakes," Brown said. "I should be ashamed of myself."

Amid a slew of personnel changes, the offensive line struggled again last week. And though Paterno, in his news conference yesterday, avoided any blaming, Penn State's linemen don't seem to need it.

Several linemen all reflected the same disgust with their recent performances. In the past four games, the Lions averaged just 40 yards rushing. That has to stop, they said.

"I think a lot of us did take it personally," guard Charles Rush said. "It was our failure to execute that basically cost us the game. It was mental mistakes. Physical mistakes. Basically any kind of mistake you can make."

Quick outs
Penn State's next home game, Nov. 6 against Northwestern, will begin at 12:10 p.m. ESPN Plus will televise the game regionally. ... Penn State has lost four games in a row for just the third time in Paterno's career. All four streaks have happened since 2001. ... A few telling statistics: Penn State is 2-0 when it controls the ball for more than 30 minutes of the game; it's 0-5 when it fails to do so. The Lions are 2-0 when scoring more than 20 points; 0-5 when scoring less than 20.