Having to compete with a football team that is usually nationally ranked, tennis isn't the most popular sport on the Penn State campus, or for that matter among college students.

While the majority of the students in Happy Valley were tuned in to ABC, watching the Nittany Lion football team fall to the Hawkeyes on Saturday, the Penn State men's tennis team was focused on a season of its own -- one that has only recorded a single loss throughout fall play.

Last weekend, the team competed in the Penn State Fall Classic at the outdoor Sarni Tennis Center -- in front of a measly 20 spectators.

"They understand," Penn Statemen's tennis coach Jan Bortner said. "Their parents are here and as long as their buddies come, they understand."

For the players, it doesn't matter who is watching. They are one another's fans -- cheering, encouraging, and applauding each other through the preseason.

Penn State (5-1) fell just one victory short of an undefeated fall season. The Lions defeated their opponents 9-0 at the Navy Invitational on two occasions. They then placed second of 16 top-ranked teams in the East at the ECAC Championships, only falling to defending champion Harvard. At the Omni Hotels East Regionals, Penn State advanced the most players of 26 schools to the second round. This weekend, the Lions closed out team fall play and won every set against Marist and Rutgers in a mock dual format tournament.

"[The players] wanted to come out and make a statement [at the Penn State Fall Classic]," Bortner said.

And they did exactly that. But the question of where Penn State ranks among teams of the Big Ten remains. They have yet to face a single Big Ten opponent.

The answer lies, though, in the Big Ten Individual Championships, where eight Penn State players will compete in two weeks.

Until then, the Lions will work hard to adjust to the rise in competition.

"We know what to expect, but compared to the teams we've been playing, the teams in the Big Ten are a lot deeper," junior Clint Keithly said.

Bortner said he looks forward to Big Ten competition in the spring at the Sarni Tennis Center that will attract a larger crowd -- because an almost flawless fall season of play just doesn't seem to be attractive enough.