So, what was it last weekend? What needs to be fixed?

Was it the fundamentals? Or, perhaps, the game plan? What about the personnel?

In some sense, it could be any of those. But the way the players see it, those aren't the things that matter. And from what they say, that's not what the adjustments they've made in practice are about, either.

"It's a lot more than fixing the mistakes," cornerback Alan Zemaitis said, "but fixing the concepts behind the mistakes."

And, perhaps, that is the best remedy for the team right now as it looks to put the season back on course against the University of Central Florida tomorrow. As cliché as it sounds, it's the intangibles that matter.

Viewing the tape of the UCF-Wisconsin game from two weeks ago, which the Badgers won, drove that point home to the team even more, at least for the defense.

"Watching the tape when Central Florida played Wisconsin, [UCF was] able to move the ball, but [Wisconsin] didn't panic, or go into shock mode or get tired," Hali said. "They played much tougher as the drive went on, and they were able to get off the field."

That type of maintenance of composure on a long drive was particularly impressive for a defense that was still lamenting the 16-play, 74-yard touchdown drive that BC pounded out in the team's defeat of Penn State last Saturday. It made them reflect and realize a thing or two.

"[We panicked] when they started moving the ball," Hali said.

"When there's a long drive, I feel we probably panicked because the ball is moving and kids don't know what to do. That's a mental toughness issue."

Penn State's offense had similar issues, only that instead of being able to stop a long drive, they were somewhat unable to sustain one.

"We should have calmed down a little more [against BC] maybe because we had time," senior receiver Gerald Smith said. "We just gotta have confidence in ourselves that when we're down, we can't stay down."

In recent years, Penn State has had difficulties with that last point, as the program's record in games in which it was behind at the half is 3-19 since 2000.

But that just puts greater importance on the team having confidence and composure and making plays in the clutch, which Smith sounded off about.

He wants dynamic plays -- no-holds-barred runs and dangerous catches -- and the playmakers to make them.

"That's what we need more of on our team -- people that want to go out there and contribute, make plays," Smith said. "People that want to be perfect in whatever they do."

Senior safety Andrew Guman, meanwhile, is sick of watching the downs that can go either way turn out badly for him and his teammates.

"It was disgusting watching those plays that are a thin line between winning and losing," Guman said. "We still have to find a way to get that to stop."

"Even though you don't get all the breaks, you find a way to win if you are a good football team."

And that's exactly what this football team is trying to accomplish this season -- finding a way to win, because this year it means so much. Which is why Zemaitis is right on when he says it's not the mistakes that need to be fixed, it's the concepts that underlie them.

"We can either come out and play ball and not worry about our mistakes," Hali said, "or come out and worry and not play football."