Sometimes games are won or lost by what goes on inside the hearts and minds of players with the rare gift of inspiring others.

For Penn State, coming off a trying 2007 campaign pockmarked by off-campus fistfights, suspensions for underage drinking and a rape allegation that was subsequently dismissed, the election of five team captains for 2008 is something so much more than ceremonial.

Seniors Derrick Williams, Josh Gaines, A.Q. Shipley and Anthony Scirrotto weren't selected by their fellow Nittany Lions strictly on the basis of their physical talents. They were chosen because of their leadership characteristics, which in some cases translates into quiet words of encouragement, in some cases into screamed exhortations.

The intangibles he brings to the table probably are even more important in the case of a fifth captain, Sean Lee, an All-America candidate at outside linebacker who will sit out this season as a redshirt with a torn meniscus and anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. But although he won't be back on the field until 2009, Lee intends to do everything he can to push, prod and poke his younger teammates into giving their very best effort.

"It can go both ways," Shipley, a 3-year starter at center, said of the more cerebral, lead-by-example methods employed by himself, Gaines, Scirrotto and Lee as opposed to Williams' high-decibel approach.

"I'm taking a psychology class and that's one of the questions. Obviously, you're born with certain traits, certain genes, that give you those types of qualities. But a guy who's really not a vocal-type leader, if somebody comes to him and says, 'Look, you've got to step up your game in terms of being more outspoken,' I think you can rise to that. When I have to, I can get in somebody's face. You have to do whatever it takes to keep guys in line and make them buy into the fact that if you want to be here, this is what you have to do."

Although coach Joe Paterno is an icon in Happy Valley, the inescapable fact is that he's 81 and old enough to be his players' great-grandfather. Then again, there always is some sort of barrier that separates college coaches who lay down the law and the 18- to 22-year-old athletes who are expected to follow those directives.

It largely falls to the more experienced players to serve as the instruments to internally enforce a code of conduct on and off the field. Toward that end, this year's five team captains hope to emulate the successes achieved by 2005 captains Michael Robinson, Alan Zemaitas and Paul Posluszny, who helped shepherd a young team from the rubble of a 4-7 season the year before into an 11-1 Big Ten championship romp culminated by an Orange Bowl victory.

Sure, Robinson, Zemaitas and Posluszny were difference-makers in the most obvious sesne. But perhaps their greatest contribution to that charmed rise to a No. 3 national ranking was their ability to inspire their teammates that a game-changing play could be made at any time if, on nothing else, the force of their collective will.

"That team had a knack for making big plays in big games," said Lee, a true freshman in '05. "I think that came from their leadership. Guys like Mike Robinson, Paul and A.Z. stepped up in big games. And they did it time after time.

"When you first get here, you don't know everyone. You're somewhat intimidated. But I remember running 300s and Mike Robinson was encouraging all the young players. You might not expect the senior quarterback to spend so much time with young players, but he did. I saw that as something very special."

With an eye to recapturing the magic of 2005, more players than usual stayed on campus year-round. They worked out together, which is no surprise. But they also went bowling and to the movies together. It made for a bonding experience.

"All the stuff that happened last year, all the trouble that we got into, that's behind us," said Williams, the holler guy in the captains' group. "Everyone knows now that there's no tolerance for anybody messing up.

"A lot of people on this team have grown up. We have more experience. The veterans were on the 2005 team. They've seen the great captains that we have had. Now it's our turn." *