In one sense, the members of the Penn State football team are in the midst of an extended fall break.

The beleaguered Nittany Lions are off this weekend before heading to Evanston, Ill., to battle Northwestern next Saturday.

However, the Lions have been anything but idle this week. Coach Joe Paterno has held rigorous practices the past two days in hopes of ironing out some of his squad's problems, after giving his players a two-day rest that coincided with the university's fall respite.

"We'll look at everything," Paterno said after his team's fourth straight loss to Michigan last Saturday. "We have to look at me, we have to look at the coaches and we have to look at the players."

While Paterno isn't as furious as he was after his team's dismal 18-6 loss to Wisconsin, the 74-year-old icon is still upset his team can't put points on the board.

His receivers are dropping balls. His offensive linemen are allowing too many sacks and can't open up any holes for the running backs. His secondary is letting up too many big plays. And his kickers are struggling to split the uprights.

But as he's done throughout his career, Paterno isn't about to throw in the towel just because of a little adversity, although he admits some tinkering with the parts of his machine may be in order.

"They haven't quit and they've worked hard," Paterno said. "Whether we need to make some different combinations, I don't know."

His players are carrying the same attitude. Cornerback Rich Gardner said people outside of the program might not believe this Penn State team can turn things around. But those same people don't see the time and effort the Lions put in pre-game preparations and practice.

"I've been talking to the guys and we really believe we can turn this around," Gardner said. "I really believe that. A lot of other people may not, but as far as me and my teammates go, we really think we can get this turned around."

But a few magic words and the wave of Paterno's wand will not change this team's fortune 180 degrees in the right direction. The team is going to have to take baby steps back to the promise land, just one game at a time.

While practice and hard work are the keystones on which a turnaround can be built on, wideout Tony Johnson said things have to change from the neck up.

"If we just don't have the little mental mistakes, we'll be fine," Johnson said. "We can go 7-4 or 6-5. As a team, we're starting to come together more and more. The average fan doesn't see it though."

Regardless of what spectators have witnessed so far, you can never count out a Paterno-coached club. He knows he's facing a monumental task in getting this team back on top.

And during his post-game press conference last Saturday, he even went so far as to admit that this may be the toughest position he's ever been in during his 36-year career in Happy Valley. But he then said something that showed how much spunk he has left.

"I've had my back to the wall before," he said with a sheepish grin. "Sometimes I enjoy it."

Hmmm.