In the fourth quarter last week, quarterback Michael Robinson looked like Larry Csonka, hugging the ball in his arms as if it were precious china. Understandable, after he already turned the ball over four times.

Penn State is tied for 104th in turnover margin in Div. I football, thanks to six interceptions and seven lost fumbles. The Nittany Lions defense has only snatched four interceptions and recovered four fumbles.

"There is no hard and fast rule to get it done," coach Joe Paterno said. "It is amazing you can win a game when you have a minus-two turnover ratio."

It's not like the team doesn't work on protecting the ball in practice. Robinson said in the quarterback option drill, the defense's first responsibility is to try to strip the ball from his hands.

"I don't have that many mistakes at practice," Robinson said. "If I go out there in 10 games, it probably wouldn't happen. You never can know with the fumbles."

Paterno has always said Robinson tries to do a little too much on his rushing attempts, especially when scrambling out of the pocket.

Since so much of the offense depends on Robinson, including his improvisational skills, his turnovers become that much more crippling.

"Me being a senior and the quarterback, I can't have these mistakes," Robinson said. "I put our team in a bad situation. I'm trying to make a conscious effort with holding the ball with two hands."

Hence, the Csonka approach. On that particular play, Robinson kept an option and turned it up field for a big gain. When he started to get hit in the secondary, he still tried to get whatever extra yards he could by running through the tackle while squeezing the football. It took more than one Northwestern defender to finally bring him down.

Obviously, not all of the Lions turnovers are credited to Robinson, even though he bears the responsibility for the majority of them.

The Lions freshman receiving corps also goes through extensive drills in practice to work on fumble prevention. Defensive backs on the scout team take large blocking pads and pummel the receiver, helping him gain an appreciation for holding onto the football.

"You know you're gonna get hammered as soon as you catch the ball," receiver Deon Butler said. "It's a pretty good simulation of a tough hit."

All three of Robinson's interceptions against the Wildcats resulted from tipped passes, either off the receivers' hands or balls touched by defensive lineman.

Robinson called those instances "flukes."

"I know where guys are gonna be at," he said. "I'm throwing the ball before they come out of their breaks. A couple times last week, as soon as their defense lined up, the receivers knew where I was gonna throw the ball."

If Robinson's timing with the receivers continues to sharpen, the turnovers could decrease.

Paterno said that Robinson's running role will expand this week, which means protecting the ball in the face of defenders going for the strip will be priority No. 1.

"He will get better at that," Paterno said.