Every play, you get two voices. Or wait -- it might be three voices. Or even more than that.

Truth is buried there somewhere, between the headphones that buzz every time the Lions call a play. This much is certain: Penn State, a team with a predilection for simplicity -- note the logo-less uniforms -- has a play-calling system that's downright byzantine.

When the Lions are on offense, a combination of assistant coaches share play-calling duties, bringing multiple voices to an operation usually performed by one.

As Penn State junior quarterback and wide receiver Michael Robinson explains it, offensive coordinator Galen Hall calls the running plays and defers to quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno for passing plays. And sometimes they talk plays out together.

Coach Joe Paterno provides an even more ambiguous description, while adding his involvement this year with the play-calling is minimal.

"Jay will call certain plays in certain situations, and Galen will call most of the game with some input from [offensive line coach] Dick Anderson," Paterno said. "They spend hours looking at situations and making decisions as to what they want to do and they do it pretty much as a staff. When we get into certain situations, Galen turns it over to Jay and vice versa."

Penn State's play-calling system, judged purely by its results, has failed to shake Penn State from its recent offensive woes. The Lions, preparing for Saturday's game at Ohio State, have scored just 30 points in their past four games, all losses. In that stretch, Penn State has never gotten into an offensive rhythm -- unless, of course, that rhythm includes taking three snaps and promptly punting the ball away.

Players defend the play-calling, citing their performances -- not the coaches' -- as the problem.

"They'll call a play that they think will work," center E.Z. Smith said. "It's up to us to get it done."

Penn State faced one other impediment to that in Saturday's 6-4 loss to Iowa. That is, after the game, Iowa players claimed to know a large chunk of Penn State's plays before the snap.

As Robinson and Zack Mills took snaps against the Hawkeyes, Iowa players paraded opposite the line of scrimmage, shouting out Penn State's plays. That predictability showed in the Lions' success. They managed just 96 passing yards and 51 rushing yards. They also committed five turnovers.

"That was weird," Robinson said. "They knew exactly what we were gonna do some times. They were yelling some things at the line. Maybe they scouted us a little better than we thought."

"It is kind of disturbing that it happened," guard Charles Rush said.

Last season, Penn State employed a similarly complex play-calling system, only then-offensive coordinator Fran Ganter performed many of the duties now performed by Hall. At times in 2003, the Lions' coaches struggled to quickly relay play calls to the players.

This season, that problem seems rectified. But questions remain focused on the play-calling in part because Hall, previously a running backs coach with the Dallas Cowboys, likely hoped for more autonomy than he now has.

Some observers who watch Hall during games suggest the first-year coordinator looks detached from the decision making. He spends his games on the sideline, unlike most coordinators, who sit in the press box. In Hall's place, Jay Paterno spends games upstairs.

"One guy is on the field, the other guy is in the box," Robinson said. "I really don't know why Penn State does it like that."