You could see it in the players' faces following Saturday's 27-11 loss to Alabama. It wasn't just the look of despair following an embarrassing home loss - it was the look of a player knowing exactly what questions he was about to face from the media and wanting nothing to do with it.
And the biggest reason for the players' frustrations wasn't necessarily the score of the game, it was that most of the questions Saturday weren't even directly related to them - unless their name was Matt McGloin or Rob Bolden.
Not that the Nittany Lions are selfish and want only to talk about "me, me, me," but they're simply tired of hearing and answering questions about who's taking the snaps on a given day - or in this case, on a given series.
"We just want to move forward," wide receiver Derek Moye said after Saturday's loss.
But that can't, and won't, happen until Joe Paterno, and the rest of the Penn State coaching staff, decides to put an end to the three-ring circus they've created, picks a quarterback and sticks with him.
On any level, it inevitably happens to a football team when facing a quarterback controversy. The players in the locker room get tired of hearing about it day in and day out and eventually it begins to affect their play on the field. In some cases, it can tear a team apart.
I'm not saying that's happening to the Nittany Lions - yet. However, the QB shuffle isn't making things any easier for the players.
"It's a little difficult," Bolden said Saturday. "I wish I could've just went back-to-back-to-back (drives) it's Joe's decision and I have to do what he does.
"I'm just going to have to go out there and play my game. I can't worry about what Matt's going to do or what the coaches are thinking. It's too much, it's too much to think about."
Even the players on the field don't know who will be taking the snap until that respective quarterback enters the huddle and calls the play.
"Nope, none at all, none at all," said wide receiver Justin Brown, when asked Saturday if he had any sense of which quarterback would be playing on a given series. "I just go into the huddle and whoever quarterback I see, that's who I know they're (the coaching staff) going with.
"It's tough with the (QB) battle going on and what not. It doesn't make things easier."
Is this a contributing factor to all the dropped passes by Penn State receivers in the first two games? Probably, but the receivers aren't going to make excuses, nor should they.
"Overall as a receiving corps, I think we need to make some more plays," Moye said. "Granted they were tough plays, but this group, we expect to make those."
Quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno said following Saturday's loss that he didn't think the constant switching at QB hurt the offensive rhythm. Apparently, he forgot to pass that message along to his players.
"I felt like I had established myself with getting into a rhythm and they kind of yanked me to put Matt in," Bolden said. "But like I said, there's nothing I can do about it. I just have to deal with it."
I don't know how Jay Paterno can make a statement like that after such an ugly offensive performance. On Saturday, Bolden led Penn State on its longest offensive drive (16 plays, 7:32) since a 17-play series last season against Kent State (also a Bolden-led drive.)
Bolden completed two (should have been four if balls weren't dropped) of five passes on that first drive against Alabama. He only completed nine more throws the rest of the game.
Though Bolden completed just 11 of 29 passes, the numbers surely would have been better had he been able to get into a rhythm and been given some help from his receivers.
McGloin didn't complete a ball until his eighth attempt of the game, and that was a swing pass to running back Silas Redd, which went nowhere.
Bolden said he's on a mission to be the Nittany Lions' starting quarterback. In my eyes, he's done the best he can in a difficult situation to succeed at that mission. The battle should be over, and the job should be his.
Joe Paterno said during his Tuesday press conference that he felt both quarterbacks "did a pretty good job" against Alabama. I wouldn't exactly classify McGloin's 1-10 performance "pretty good."
He also said Tuesday that Penn State will again enter this Saturday's game at Temple using the two-quarterback system. I'm sorry, but that decision is absolutely wrong.
These games could - and should - be used to allow Bolden to get through more of the growing pains before entering a very tough Big Ten schedule. Instead, he and McGloin have been turned into a sideshow.
JoePa refuses to see what's right in front of him. Maybe he needs a new prescription for his glasses. Maybe he doesn't have binoculars to see well enough from his seat in the press box.
Whatever the issue is, he needs to put an end to the QB shuffle before it tears this team into pieces. And if that decision doesn't come real soon, the "Joe must go" whispers that are already happening will just get louder and louder.
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Postgame quote of the week: "Like I said, if I was running things, I would be the only guy out there." - Rob Bolden on the Nittany Lions' quarterback controversy.
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Chris McFarland is the news editor of The Sentinel. Contact him at cmcfarland@lewistownsentinel.com
