If the Penn State football team has been consistent in one area this year, it has been inconsistency.

"Losing here and losing there ... it is a different thing each week," Penn State coach Joe Paterno said yesterday at his weekly press conference. "We were good in one area, and then we break down in that area the next week."

Much of this irregularity has been on offense, making it difficult for the Nittany Lions to formulate a game plan. Either the run game or the pass game has struggled all season, making it hard to sustain drives. And now, with the physical Big Ten opponents stacking the box to prevent a ground attack, the Lions have one choice to get the offense rolling -- pass the ball.

"Until we throw the ball better and until we can get one of those guys out of the box, with the kind of people we are playing against, we are not going to run the football," Paterno said. "It is as simple as that. There is a guy in there all the time that we can't block."

The problems with the pass attack leading up to the Purdue game were largely a result of a receiving corps that, with the absence of utility player Michael Robinson due to a concussion, was suddenly shaky again. But the Purdue game rekindled hope in a reliable air attack that could help open up the way for a running game.

"I told the staff, 'Let's throw the darn football until we can get that guy out of the box,' " Paterno said. "We did. We threw the ball 48 or 50 times and we were fairly effective. I think what we did was OK. If we had kept trying to run the football, we would have probably wasted a lot of time."

As a result, the plan for the Iowa game will follow suit: pass until the team proves it can pass, and then try to run. And fortunately for Penn State, there will be extra help in getting the passing game going, as Robinson is expected to return for this week's game.

"I think Michael's gonna be fine, unless something happens this week," Paterno said. "We're gonna try to make sure nothing happens to him this week. I think Michael Robinson will play; he'll play in a lot of different spots."

Senior quarterback Zack Mills maintained that the return of Robinson to the offense won't complicate things too much -- "we basically have two packages, one where he's at one position at wideout, one where he's at the other," he said. But Paterno, on the other hand, was extremely sensitive when asked to expound upon Robinson's role when he returns.

"We're gonna use him where we think we can get the most out of him against what we think we can expect from Iowa, period," Paterno said. "For me to tell you, 'Well, this is what we think we're gonna get from Iowa, we're gonna do this and that and the whole bit,' well, you know I can't tell you that."

And when pressed later on, he remained relentless.

"You guys can ask me all of the questions you want about how I am going to use Michael Robinson, and I am going to give everybody the same answer: You will find out on Saturday," Paterno said.

"I don't know whether he is going to play wide receiver, tailback or quarterback. I know where he is going to play, but I am not going to say. Do you want me to tell you where he is going to play? Is that what you want me to tell you? I ain't gonna tell you. I don't think that is a big deal."

Middle man

Though Paterno said at last week's press conference that freshman linebacker Dan Connor would likely start at middle linebacker even if Tim Shaw recovered from his ankle sprain, that assertion is now questionable.

"Last week, he was the middle linebacker because Tim Shaw was hurt," Paterno said. "If Tim Shaw is healthy, I am not sure where Dan Connor is going to play. ... As a result of what we do in the practice and how they respond to practice will determine how we will line up. I don't want to mislead you that Tim Shaw is out of the picture because he is not."

Bad, bad Levi Brown

Offensive tackle Levi Brown, who was sidelined with a knee sprain against Minnesota, could be back to play the Hawkeyes.

"Levi Brown practiced [Monday], limited practice," Paterno said. "I think the trainers and the doctors are gonna let him go [Tuesday]. If they let him go [Tuesday], then I think Levi Brown should be OK by Saturday."

Status update

Paterno's son-in-law, Chris Hort, who sustained head injuries in a bike accident on Sept. 25, remains in recovery.

"Chris is making good improvement and we're optimistic," Paterno said in an e-mail release sent yesterday. "We appreciate everyone's concern and prayers."

Channel surfing

With this past weekend the team's only bye week of the season, Paterno spent his Saturday watching other Big Ten football games. Several of the games overlapped, however, causing the 77-year old to use technology to help him catch as much conference football as possible.

"I didn't watch much of anything else except games of people we're gonna play," Paterno said. "If there was a commercial, I flipped, like all of us do, with the remote control."