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Sunday, September 23, 2001

By Ray Fittipaldo, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State Coach Joe Paterno held one of his shortest postgame news conferences of his 35-year head-coaching career yesterday afternoon, but he said a lot about his football team in seven minutes at the podium.

	Penn State cornerback Bruce Branch is called for pass interference in the end zone as he defends Wisconsin's Lee Evans. The penalty sets up the Badgers' final touchdown. (Lake Fong, Post-Gazette)

Paterno, agitated and angry after his team lost to Wisconsin, 18-6, said his team played "like a bunch of scared rabbits" and questioned the character of his players.

"The only thing I feel like doing right now is punching a wall," he said.

This was after the Nittany Lions (0-2, 0-1 Big Ten) were thoroughly outclassed for the second time in as many outings. Miami beat the Lions, 33-7, in the opener three weeks ago, but the final score yesterday did not indicate how badly they were outplayed.

Wisconsin (2-2, 1-0) outgained Penn State, 434-131. That's the fewest yards gained by a Penn State team coached by Paterno. The Badgers did not punt and had 320 yards rushing. They possessed the ball more than twice as much as the Lions -- 41:53 to 18:07.

The Penn State offense looked haggard again. Wisconsin had eight sacks, exposing the offensive line's performance for the second consecutive game. Paterno pulled starting quarterback Matt Senneca in the first half for freshman Zack Mills and said he didn't know who would start against Iowa next week.

After just two games, Paterno said he will re-evaluate his entire team.

	More on Penn State: Penn State Report: 9/23/01 ... a word from our columnist Bob Smizik Make no mistake, Penn State in ruins

"We got a good licking," he said. "We played like a bunch of scared rabbits again in the first half. We've got to find some people who have enough poise to go out there in a tough football game and make some plays happen.

"I have to step back and look at this whole football team. I'm disappointed in our play. I don't want to take anything away from Wisconsin because they played a good football game. I just don't think we're playing nearly as well as we should be able to play."

When asked if there was any positive he could take away from the game, he said, "Depends on what kind of people we have. I think the ball is in the players' court."

Defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy welcomed the analysis.

"We may have guys going in the tank," he said. "Guys may be frustrated or guys just might be exhausted out there."

The free fall continues for the Lions, who have lost 12 of their past 18 regular-season games. They opened the season with consecutive losses for a second year in a row and failed to score more than six points in a game for the sixth time in their past 14 games.

"Something has gone wrong," junior safety Shawn Mayer said. "We have to find out what's going on."

Wisconsin defensive lineman Wendell Bryant might have wrapped up the Outland Trophy with his performance yesterday. He had 4 1/2 sacks, two tackles for loss and a fumble recovery. The Badgers had eight sacks and yielded just 95 yards on the ground. Penn State was 1 for 9 on third downs.

"We're running around out there like we don't know what we're doing," senior running back Eric McCoo said.

Paterno pulled Senneca after three series produced 7 yards and just two first downs (one by penalty). Mills finished the first half but didn't fare much better.

They split time in the second half. Senneca finished 3 for 11 for 54 yards and a touchdown, a 50-yard pass to Larry Johnson. Mills was 3 for 8 for 44 yards and an interception.

When asked who his quarterback would be against Iowa, Paterno said, "I haven't the slightest idea."

Quarterback seems deep down on the list of problems for Paterno, who has to find linemen capable of blocking and defenders capable of tackling. There wasn't much of either yesterday.

Wisconsin scored on three of its first five possessions and led, 12-0, at halftime. Running back Anthony Davis ran 37 times for 200 yards, and quarterback Brooks Bollinger ran for 112 yards on 23 carries. He frustrated the Lions all day, eluding would-be tacklers on quarterback draws, option plays and scrambles. The Badgers converted 10 of 18 third-down conversions.

"That was real frustrating," Mayer said. "We would hold them the first couple of downs, then they would convert on third down."

The Badgers, who were 6 for 9 on third downs in the first half, had difficulty putting together extended drives in their first three games. Eight of their 13 scoring drives coming into the game were two minutes or less. Yesterday, their scoring drives were all more than four minutes, one of them 6:47.

Wisconsin scored first when Bollinger connected with tight end Mark Anelli for a 3-yard touchdown pass, capping a nine-play, 61-yard drive. The extra point was blocked.

Wisconsin tailback Anthony Davis shreds the Penn State defense for 200 yards. (Lake Fong, Post-Gazette)

On their next possession, the Badgers went 58 yards in 15 plays. Mike Allen booted a 30-yard field goal for a 9-0 lead with 13:08 left in the second quarter.

Allen made the score 12-0 a few minutes later with his second field goal, a 21-yarder after the Badgers stalled deep in Penn State territory.

Penn State had some reason for hope early in the second half. After Allen missed a 37-yard field goal after a 13-play Badgers drive, the Lions reached into their bag of tricks for their only score of the game.

On first down, Senneca faked a handoff to Larry Johnson, then faked a reverse to Eddie Drummond, hiding the ball behind his back. Johnson slipped into the flat and ran down the sideline. Senneca hit him in stride for a 50-yard score with 6:20 left in the third quarter. David Kimball missed the extra point.

But any hope for a victory whittled away as Wisconsin methodically marched downfield on the ensuing possession and scored another touchdown. Bollinger capped a 10-play, 78-yard drive with a 3-yard run with 1:43 left in the third quarter, and Penn State did not threaten after that.