Anthony Morelli picked up the phone last night. But the conversation didn't last long.

"I don't want to talk," Morelli said, hastily hanging up the phone.

Four days after he struggled in a disappointing loss to Michigan, the senior quarterback wants to move on, his father, Greg Morelli said.

"That game could have very easily been won by Penn State," Greg Morelli said. "He knows that, and he feels terrible about it."

Normally, Anthony Morelli speaks to reporters on a conference call every week. This week, however, he is not scheduled. Penn State sports information director Jeff Nelson said Anthony Morelli was going to get a break from interviews this week.

No other reasons were offered for his absence, but Joe Paterno said it wasn't his decision.
Anthony and his father haven't discussed the loss since 7 p.m. Sunday. Greg Morelli and Anthony have a rule -- Anthony's father calls it the "24-hour rule" -- that after a full day has passed since the final whistle, it's time to move on to the next game. No more looking back.

That game in Ann Arbor last weekend? Never happened. This weekend's game in Illinois is the only game on the schedule.

Still, in the hours immediately after the loss, Penn State's senior quarterback was "totally dejected," Greg Morelli said.

Anthony's performance has been questioned during conference calls, but Greg Morelli defended his son, saying Anthony "could care less" about how he is perceived by the public. Anthony doesn't look at college football message boards or pay attention to football coverage on television or in print, Greg Morelli said.

"You gotta have that kind of skin," the elder Morelli said. "I think maybe he's frustrated with himself. I don't think he's frustrated with anything the coaches have done. He's frustrated with the loss."

An Anthony Morelli fumble led to a Michigan touchdown last weekend.

"You can't fumble the ball," Greg Morelli said. "You gotta take care of the ball. He knows that, he'll rectify that."

Still, Anthony's teammates defended him, saying he's moved past the loss to Michigan.

"We're re-focused," offensive lineman Gerald Cadogan said. "We're focused on what we have to do, and that's beat Illinois. Morelli's doing a great job calling plays and doing the calls on the line of scrimmage."