A hard fought loss to Purdue that featured an effective game -- Penn State passing a step forward.

A 6-4 loss to Iowa that suggested it may have been played before the institution of the forward pass -- two steps, three steps, four, five, six ... well they're still marching backward.

"It's hard to say," utility man Michael Robinson said. "Obviously we took a step back, you see the numbers. It was just one of those things, one of those days. We seem to have more of those days in the recent couple years, days when things weren't going right ... just one of those days and we gotta be able to bounce back from it."

Not being able to bounce back. This is the fear of a Penn State team, a Penn State offense, desperate not to degenerate into last season's 3-9 finish. Last year, the letdown of a narrow loss to Ohio State at home seemed to crush the collective spirit of the Nittany Lions, as they were never able to recapture the intensity they had against the Buckeyes.

Now, a year later the Lions are trying to avoid the same pitfall, having already fallen flat on their faces after the Purdue game against the Hawkeyes. So what do you do to prevent that mentality from seeping in again?

You get mad.

"I just hate losing," center E.Z. Smith said. "I've never gotten accustomed to losing. I think I lost maybe eight or nine games my whole high school career. I'm a sore loser, I'll put it that way. I get down, I get angry and really upset. I'm a bad person to be around when we lose on Saturdays.

"I just wanna do anything and everything I can and show everybody out there -- my team, my coaches -- that I can set an example that we still have four games to go, we can still make a bowl game and I'm willing to do whatever it takes."

There's a decidedly different mood in practice this week say most of the players. After each of the previous four losses, the mood was typically described as "positive" and "optimistic." This week, after the Lions dropped to 2-5 with their fourth straight loss, words like "angry" and "determined" are used, especially from those on the offensive side of the ball.

And it's hard to blame them after last Saturday's showing that yielded no points, gained 147 yards and earned just six first downs. The Iowa defense was actually calling out some of the Lions' plays before they ran them.

It's a touchy subject for those outside the program who so blatantly dodge questions about Penn State's offensive struggles that it's borderline hilarious.

"I know what you guys are fishing for, I read the papers, too," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "Every team in the world has tendencies. It wasn't like we had any great secrets or anything. The bottom line was neither offense was very prolific that given day. That's football."

Perhaps when the Lions invade Columbus Saturday to face a relatively floundering Buckeyes squad they can exorcise some of the demons from last season's near miss at Beaver Stadium. Then coaches, players and others associated with the game won't be forced to dance around the statistics that aren't so flattering.

Whether the team's mentality changes things on the field, especially on offense, is yet to be seen. But the effects after a few days of practice have already spread to all facets of the team.

"Guys are fed up with losing right now," punter Jeremy Kapinos said. "A lot of guys are determined to get it done. They're working like dogs to get it turned around and get this losing taste out of our mouths."