This was a long and solemn march off the field.
Penn State football players have had trouble putting it into words this week, that slow journey to the visitors' tunnel at Wisconsin last Saturday.
They didn't need to. The walk said it all.
The Nittany Lions had a 16-3 loss to the Badgers and injuries to their top two quarterbacks, one of whom left in an ambulance, bearing down on their shoulders. It might as well have been the whole of Camp Randall Stadium weighing them down, as they slowly plodded toward their uncertain future.
For the Lions, it's a relief just to be able to play and concentrate on football again. But a trip to Minnesota tomorrow night to play the No. 18 Golden Gophers is not much of a cure-all.
Penn State (2-2, 0-1 Big Ten) was already going to be looking at a significant challenge against the Gophers before a nightmarish chain of events occurred in Madison.
"Emotionally, we've put it behind us," senior fullback Paul Jefferson said. "We're trying to stay positive, particularly the older guys. We're 2-2 on the season and it's not over. We have to keep a positive attitude -- there's a lot of season left."
It won't be easy.
Gone is the team's most versatile playmaker, Michael Robinson, for an indefinite period of time because of the lingering effects of the concussion he suffered against the Badgers.
Starting quarterback Zack Mills seems likely to play after a slight separation in his right (non-throwing) shoulder knocked him out of the Wisconsin game as well. But if he can't go, the Lions will have to turn to either Chris Ganter, who filled in last week, or true freshman Anthony Morelli.
Couple an uncertain quarterback situation with a suddenly shaky receiving corps once again, and the Gophers (4-0, 1-0) figure to be stacking the line against the run.
"The offensive line and myself, we have to understand that we're gonna see a lot of eight-men fronts," Jefferson said. "But we gotta say, 'The heck with it,' and we have to run the ball. They're gonna blitz and put a lot of guys in the box."
On the other side of the ball, the Lions must face the Big Ten's top two leading rushers in the dynamic tandem of Laurence Maroney and Marion Barber III.
It will be a stern test for a Penn State front seven that has improved dramatically from last season, but is still unable to make the big momentum-turning plays the team needs right now.
"I don't think they compare to anyone we've played against," linebacker Paul Posluszny said of the Gophers' running backs. "These guys, they weight like 210, 215 [pounds], but they're very fast and very quick and they get downhill right away. They're very good backs and we're gonna have our hands full."
Even if the Lions were in perfect health, physically and mentally, this game looked to be one of their toughest of the season. But last week's loss left some scars on Penn State's psyche and those will have to be combated simultaneously with the Gophers.
And for Penn State coach Joe Paterno, he said he believes the team will have to remain close for his squad to be successful in either battle.
"I hope that in our relationship with the players they understand that we are interested in them as people and I hope that they would reach out to each other," Paterno said. "I talk about that all the time.
"When we meet in the squad meeting, I say, 'Take a look around because the best friends you are ever going to have in your life are sitting around you. Thirty years from now, you guys will be friends.' "
