Speaking more softly than usual, Derrick Williams stated the obvious after Penn State's loss to No. 17 Wisconsin.

The Nittany Lions need to make the big plays, he said.

But then the sophomore receiver opened a rare window into what he actually felt about the way this season panned out, saying this wasn't what he imagined.

"The only thing we can do now is finish out the season strong and just look forward to next year," Williams said.

Notice the past tense, the downtrodden tones, the looking forward to 2007 with two regular season games and one bowl game yet to be played.

Really, who can blame him?

As frustrating as Penn State's moribund offense is to watch, it must be exponentially more difficult to be a part of the unit, to have the talent and not be able to execute.

By this time in the season, it's evident the Lions are somewhere between slightly above average and good. They beat all the teams they should (though not always convincingly), while they've lost to the four solid squads on the schedule.

No big surprises from this group, other than perhaps the margins of defeat and victory. While it's true that games cannot be won or lost on paper, Penn State's Saturdays could have been very accurately predicted.

The excuses and post-game clichés are worn and tired by now, but the tone taken after Saturday's loss was far different: It was an admission of failure and a hope for brighter days in 2007.

Frequently used throughout the season by players and coaches alike was that this was a young team. No more.

"I can't even say that we're young because we're 10 games in," Williams admitted. "We need to go out and we need to play."

If this team is still young, then so is Joe Paterno.

Often cited as a reason for the offense's minimal production, coaches and Anthony Morelli spent the first nine weeks explaining how they took what the defense gave them. No more.

"They're not going to just give it to you," Morelli said of Wisconsin's defense. "You've got to go take it."

And while Penn State was unable to generate much success on offense, at least the coaches finally showed enough faith in their quarterback to let him throw the ball downfield on a consistent basis against a quality team.

Players who at the beginning of the season were considered young are now taking full responsibility.

Few, if any, key players on this football team are content with simply being respectable.

For last year's freshmen like Williams, Justin King and Jordan Norwood, the taste of losing at the collegiate level is a rather new sensation.

For this season's freshman class, the likes of Andrew Quarless and A.J. Wallace, losing was likely not something considered a viable possibility when those recruits committed to Penn State after watching last year's 11-1 team.

By most standards, eight wins constitutes a respectable season.

But for these Lions - the ones who have either grown accustomed to winning or came in fully expecting to be victorious against the best the Big Ten has to offer - eight wins will surely make for a long off-season.