UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Penn State players and coaches have spent a lot of time and energy trying to prop back up quarterback Daryll Clark, who fell into a deep, dark hole with poor performances in a win at Ohio State and a killer loss at Iowa. That's perfectly understandable; Clark holds the key to what's left of their regular season -- a home game Saturday against Michigan State that will determine if Penn State wins at least a share of the Big Ten Conference championship and goes to the Rose Bowl. What isn't so clear is how Clark is going to respond. His erratic play in a 34-7 win against Indiana yesterday at Beaver Stadium did little to clear up the mystery.

Will the real Daryll Clark please stand up?

Is he the guy who might have been the Big Ten's Offensive Player of the Year through the first two months of the season?

Or is he the poor fellow who was so despondent after the 24-23 loss in Iowa eight days ago ended Penn State's national championship hopes that he said he couldn't bring himself to leave his apartment the entire next day?

Tune in at 3:30 p.m. Saturday to find out.

Just as much will be at stake for Clark against Michigan State as for the Penn State team.

No one wants the reputation of coming up small in the biggest games.

There's also the matter of highly regarded backup Pat Devlin, who led the Nittany Lions on the winning fourth-quarter touchdown drive at Ohio State Oct. 25 after Clark's late concussion. He will be eager to compete for the starting job next season.

"Absolutely, I have to play better next week," Clark said of his Indiana performance. He also could have been speaking about Iowa and Ohio State.

"We had three turnovers today -- all from me. That can't happen. That just can't happen ... You work so hard to make sure things go the right way so you can help the team, not hurt the team. When you hurt the team, it's frustrating. It upsets you."

That's why those close to Clark turned up his life support after he took responsibility for the loss to Iowa and "really took it hard ... It was awful." Senior co-captain/center A.Q. Shipley talked him up publicly. "He's done a fantastic job being the leader of this group." Quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno called Clark into his office for a Monday meeting after Clark finally emerged from his locked room and told him the loss wasn't "entirely your fault." Clark thanked Paterno for being there and for his "good timing."

But whatever good those pick-him-ups did for Clark seemed lost late in the first quarter yesterday when he lost a fumble on the Indiana 2 with the game scoreless. He looked like a lost soul on the long, slow walk to the Penn State bench.

Again, Shipley, among others, was there.

" 'Listen, mistakes happen. You've got to keep your head up,' " Clark recalled Shipley saying. " 'We're looking to you to keep things rolling.' "

Clark, though throwing an interception in the slick, rainy conditions and losing another fumble -- his 10th this season -- in the second half, ended up making enough plays for Penn State to win against an Indiana team so bad that hapless would be significant improvement. He threw a nice 39-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Derrick Williams on the series after his first fumble. He found tight end Mickey Shuler for 18 yards on a third-and-8 play when, in his words, "Indiana brought the house." He also threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Deon Butler, a play Jay Paterno called "a big-time read and a big-time throw."

"Today was a good day," Clark said.

Because Penn State won to go to 10-1, sure.

And because Clark feels his game is back on track.

But is it, really?

It wasn't just the three turnovers. Clark took an 11-yard sack right before Penn State kicker Kevin Kelly missed a 40-yard field-goal attempt. He overthrew wide-open wide receiver Jordan Norwood on a play that should have been a touchdown. He had other passes that were low, although the rotten conditions were a factor.

"That is one of the reasons I kept him in there," Penn State coach Joe Paterno said when asked if he was concerned about Clark's confidence. "He has had some problems, but I think he needs to work his way through it."

In fairness, Clark's day would have been better if not for two drops by Williams. The same was true at Iowa. Everybody remembers the late interception Clark threw, but they forget the two drops and two big missed blocks by tight end Andrew Quarless and another drop by Norwood. And when the offense struggled at Ohio State, it wasn't all Clark's fault. Although Butler, Williams and Norwood are good college receivers and rank 1, 3 and 4 on Penn State's receptions list, they were no match for Ohio State's terrific set of cornerbacks.

Still, most big games come down to the quarterback.

Clark was a little short against Ohio State and Iowa.

He can't be short against Michigan State if Penn State is going to make it to that Rose Bowl as the Big Ten champ.