Considering the strength of the defense, Penn State could have won the ugly way for most of this year.

Too bad they haven't had the "big uglies" up front to do it.

Cruel as it may sound, it would be tough to argue that the offensive line has been anything less than awful this season. At the very least, it has performed below expectations.

Though the linemen have allowed a reasonable number of sacks (12), it seems as if Penn State quarterbacks get hit on nearly every pass play, and the Nittany Lions' miniscule rushing total of 119 yards per game doesn't help their case either.

Apparently they have fallen short of their own expectation as well. Feeling as if they were at the core of last weekend's embarrassing 6-4 loss to Iowa, they were upset with themselves early in the week.

"Those guys took it personally," utility player and backup quarterback Michael Robinson said. "Of the whole team, of guys who were upset over the game, of the guys who really took Saturday personally, I really think offensive line did."

So personally, in fact, that one of them decided to apologize to his quarterback. Tackle Levi Brown approached Robinson at practice on Monday and said: "Mike, I made rookie mistakes. I should be ashamed of myself right now, I should be ashamed."

Brown might have felt particularly distraught because he was unable to accomplish what he had been specifically reassigned to do in the Iowa game. Penn State football coach Joe Paterno said Brown often played right tackle instead of left, where he normal plays, because "we thought he would be able to do a better job on number 31, Matt Roth."

Brown did not block Roth all that effectively, as one of the top defensive ends in the conference had a stellar game, recording two sacks, three tackles for a loss, a forced fumble and numerous quarterback pressures.

The rest of the line didn't fair too much better. Iowa battered the Lions' quarterbacks to the point of injury, and the running backs could only find room for only 51 rushing yards, which was actually only the second time in four games the Lions rushed for more than 50 yards. They have not rushed for 100 since the University of Central Florida game on Sept. 18.

The line seems closer to a model of instability each week, too. First it was performance that was inconsistent.

Now the line's personnel has been just as unpredictable. Of the five starters going into the season, only center E.Z. Smith and Brown haven't been pulled from a game when healthy.

The zone blocking scheme -- which lauded as the work of offensive coordinator Galen Hall early in the season -- has crumbled, along with Penn State's entire rushing attack.

"We haven't really done as good a job as we should be doing, with teams stacking up against the run and making us throw," Smith said. "We have to be able to prepare and protect Zack and Mike, especially when teams are stacking up and daring us to throw the ball."

And so the running game has suffered. And so has the rest of the team.

And so goes any preconceived notion of a winning Penn State team with a stellar defense and a steady, ball-control offense.