K.I.S.S.

That's right: keep it simple, stupid.

It is exactly what the Penn State football team did not do this past season. Every thing that the Nittany Lions did was more complex than it had to be. This may be the way it has been done in the past, but it didn't work, which was made quite apparent by the 3-9 record.

Never before in the 116-year history of the program has Penn State lost that many games.

The problems start with the coaching staff's indecision.

In the past Penn State has prided itself on running the football. This season that wasn't the case. In fact, the Lions averaged only 122 yards, which was 90th nationally. Last season the Lions gained 228 yards per game, tenth best in the country.

Even when the Lions' struggled in 2000, the team rushed for 142 yards a game. You can easily say the biggest difference is the running back, but that isn't fair.

The biggest difference is the play of the offensive line. Year in and year out, Penn State signs the top offensive line recruits and they never develop.

Who's at fault? The coaches.

Dick Anderson coaches the centers and guards, while Bill Kenney works with the tackles. It didn't work.

Chris McKelvy never developed. Charles Rush and Tyler Reed are starting, but haven't been impressive. Joel Holler came in out of shape and never saw the field in 2003.

What needs to happen: Pick one coach and have him work extensively with the linemen to get better, because as of late it hasn't happened. The process of meshing a line is tougher when more than one coach is teaching the players.

Another possible reason for the lack of blocking is the erratic play calling. But that, again, is a product of having too many people involved in the decisions. Offensive coordinator Fran Ganter calls the running plays, quarterback Jay Paterno is in charge of calling the pass plays and the 76-year-old other Paterno jumps in whenever he deems it necessary.

There is no flow to the offense. This is evident by the team's continued inability to pick up a first down on the first offensive series of the game. The Lions got better as the season went on, but it was the sixth game before Penn State moved the sticks on its opening possession.

What needs to happen: give Ganter total control of the play calling, as he had before the younger Paterno was the quarterback coach.

If the play calling wasn't bad enough, the special teams were. It was either a blocked kick, a punt return or a missed field goal every week. Not to mention the kick returns, which were horrific all season. Even a couple nice returns by Calvin Lowry in the finale couldn't get the Lions out of the nation's cellar. Penn State averaged 15.29 yards per kick return

Once again, the coaches split the duties here. But it hasn't worked.

What needs to happen: Hire a special teams coach.

But all the problems can boil down to one thing: everything has been made way too complicated.

Just keep it simple, stupid.