Earlier this week, Wisconsin cornerback Allen Langford said this weekend's gameplan against the Nittany Lions would be the same as any week: Make the quarterback think more than usual.

"We try to confuse the quarterback, make him feel uncomfortable," Langford said.

So far, the Wisconsin defense has done a good job wreaking havoc against quarterbacks, intercepting 10 passes and boasting the No. 1 passing defense in the Big Ten.

That might spell danger for junior quarterback Anthony Morelli and the Penn State offense. In recent weeks, the offense has already looked more than befuddled. Though strong winds at Purdue limited Penn State's passing attack, Morelli has thrown for just 322 yards the past two weeks, and Penn State's wide receivers have not caught a touchdown pass since Week 2 against Notre Dame.

And with the Lions traveling to Madison to face a Wisconsin defense that's ranked near the top of every defensive category in the Big Ten, it doesn't seem likely that Penn State's offensive woes will end anytime soon.

"They are not fancy," Penn State coach Joe Paterno said of Wisconsin's defense. "They know what they are doing and you have to beat them. I keep going back to the same story. They are a coach's team and they are well coached."

Even worse for the Lions, touchdowns have been few and far between lately, as the Lions have managed just 26 offensive points the past three weeks, losing to Michigan and squeaking out wins against Illinois and Purdue. During that span, Penn State has relied on its defense, containing opponents to just 29 points, a performance highlighted by a 12-0 shutout against Purdue last week.

This week, Morelli said the offense must improve in order to take some pressure off the defense.

"They're playing really well this year and winning us a lot of games," Morelli said. "We always drive the ball up and down the field so nice, but we always end up with three. That's not going to work for too long."

As Morelli said, moving the ball hasn't been the problem for Penn State -- the Lions racked up 422 total yards of offense last week against Purdue. But when it comes to scoring points, Penn State has struggled greatly, especially in the red zone.

See Offense, Page 14.

Offense

From Page 8.

Through nine games, the Lions have only scored 10 touchdowns and kicked 11 field goals from within the 20-yard line, a statistic that places them next-to-last in conference rankings.

"I don't know whether it is inexperience or whether it is a question of people getting too excited about getting down in there and wanting to get it in," Paterno said of his team's red zone struggles. " I am not quite sure, but we spend an awful lot of time on our practice field simulating the situations in the red zone."

The Lions better hope that focus helps this week. Currently, the Badgers are atop the conference in red zone defense, allowing just seven touchdowns and six field goals inside their 20.

But it's not like the Badger defense is completely impregnable. Langford admitted that Wisconsin struggled against Illinois' quarterback Juice Williams last week, as the multi-talented freshman ran for 53 yards and passed for another 171.

While Morelli isn't close to the runner that Williams is, he has shown that he can run when needed, even breaking a 28-yard run against Notre Dame.

But the Lions know that if they are to have much success against a tough Wisconsin defense, they must turn in a complete offensive performance.

"We're close and hopefully this week we can do that," Morelli said. "It'd be a great week to do that."