She lived a long life, but there is no one now to light the candles, and Penn State needs divine intervention, in a hurry. St. Jude has been declared ecclesiastically ineligible but, hey, there are other saints, like St. Joe. During a week when Joe Paterno used Jesus as a metaphor to get his players to show compassion instead of celebration, his football team was handled with the dispassion of "stevedores" whom Paterno said Christ turned into apostles.

Not one but two of his quarterbacks were knocked out of the game in the first quarter by Wisconsin's lightning-strike defensive end Erasmus James. He handled Zack Mills and Michael Robinson like freight.

That left Chris Ganter to take over, and the Penn State hotline critics wondered why Paterno didn't use the freshman Anthony Morelli. When Paterno decided to go with Ganter, he did not know the details of the injuries to either Zack Mills (separated right shoulder) or Michael Robinson (concussion). Robinson left the stadium in an ambulance, strapped to a stretcher. Mills took another shot (painkiller) at halftime and still was in pain. Mills might try to play this week, but Robinson could miss a month.

Why risk the future with Morelli? If he goes down, who's left for next week at Minnesota? Or for the rest of the season? Is the future worth one loss? Is the franchise worth one loss?

Mills's problems began symmetrically at Wisconsin two years ago, the last time Penn State beat a ranked team. That time Mills's left shoulder was damaged, and he has not been as an effective passer since.

Beyond quarterback, the bigger Penn State problem seems to be getting blockers to stop the defensive ends, to open holes or to protect the quarterback. The offensive line is leaving the backdoor open on the Brink's armored truck. Remember when Penn State was able to handle all-American defensive ends as it did against Cornelius Bennett and Derrick Thomas of Alabama? Historically Penn State has neutralized defensive giants.

But now the Nittany Lions cannot stop the Lavar Arrington and Courtney Brown-like speed. A Slow-Mo breakdown of both sacks by collegeBLITZ.com showed that Wisconsin's senior experience and speed -- not size -- were the differences.

On Zack Mills's first play, on which he completed the 49-yard pass to Michael Robinson:

No. 90 Erasmus James, 6-4, 293 Sr/Sr L-DE from Pembroke Pines, Fla., was obviously positioning his feet for a low pass rush and blew by a pass-block attempt by No. 50 Andrew Richardson, 6-5, 297 Sr/Jr RT, lined up at TE. By the time Richardson reacted, groped and turned to his left, James was by him, heading for Mills's blindside. Not even an arm tackle or clip could have stopped James, who motored past other futile blocking attempts by tailback No. 26 Tony Hunt, still in the backfield, and No. 59 Charles Rush, 6-2, 301 Sr/Jr, who had dropped back in the backfield as a pass blocker.

On Michael Robinson's terrifying concussion 11 minutes later:

No. 90 Erasmus James, 6-4, 293 Sr/Sr L-DE from Pembroke Pines, Fla., again blew by a double-teaming attempt from Penn State's right side, first by another futile pass-block attempt by No. 50 Andrew Richardson, 6-5, 297 Sr/Jr RT, lined up at TE, and by No. 74 Tyler Reed, 6-4, 302 Sr/Jr RG. James made a beeline for Robinson, as through the middle came his teammate, DT No. 74 Jason Jefferson, 6-3, 306 Sr/Sr of Chicago, blowing by Levi Brown, 6-5, 315 Jr/Sr DT. Not even an arm tackle or clip could have stopped James -- although that might have saved Robinson at the cost of a 15-yard penalty. James first helmet-butted Robinson from the right side, striking the top of his helmet against Robinson's face-mask, driving back his head, and Jefferson then hit Robinson from the left side but rolled away from his head as Robinson hit the turf.

Handling size was a big problem for the Penn State defense, too. In the second half Coach Barry Alvarez, with no compassion, uncaged Matt Bernstein, a moose as a 270-pound fullback, and Bucky Badger and the Bernstein Bear, all in one. He gained 123 yards on 27 carries. Penn State likely never saw him on film. Otherwise, the defensive backs would not have gone for him low, so he could hurdle them like jumping a puddle.

After fasting for Yom Kippur, Bernstein took I.V. feedings 2 hours before the game, and snacked on turkey and orange pieces. He was the star of the game, the Star of David of the game. Had the game time been earlier, he would not have played.

Penn State still lacks the ability to adjust effectively during the game. If Wisconsin could go to powerball in the second half, why couldn't Penn State? Is that because Paul Jefferson is not an effective blocking back, or because the running game is still limp against power teams? Maybe an answer is switching Derek Wake to the backfield as a blocker and putting the freshman Dan Connor on defense for Wake.

It's Power Ball. It's legal in all 50 states. There must be a contingency plan when people go down, and there seldom has been. Never had a second unit been as effective as the first. Ganter was overthrowing his receivers by Zip Codes.

In Paterno's defense, his program has had enormously bad luck lately after he had enormously good luck early in his career. Compensation is cruel.

It will likely not be better at Minnesota. Those unbeaten Gophers are vikings and the AstroTurf, which is like playing on shredded tires and inhaling them for an hour, and the dome will be yet other distractions for Penn State.

The Penn State defense played top 10-football at Wisconsin. The touchdown came off a turnover. And the defense allowed three field goals, one off another turnover and one after a Bernstein-conducted 12-play, 73-yard drive. Penn State used to win with such defensive efforts.

Make St. Jude eligible again.