Mike Newkirk isn't one to let a little thing like a 48-7 loss to Penn State get him down. What others may see as a demoralizing, even embarrassing defeat, Newkirk, views as a challenge to be overcome.

Newkirk, the fifth-year senior defensive tackle from Ladysmith, is determined to finish his career at Wisconsin on a positive note.

Q. How disappointing was tonight's game?

Newkirk: "We're going through some tough times right now. We're not off to a real great start in the Big Ten. We're in a rut right now but we have to keep our heads up. Times like these are the times that test the character of a team. How are you going to respond? There's a way to win and a way to lose. Nobody wants to lose but if you have to, you want to make sure you're doing it the right way, you're doing it with class and you're playing to the end. There's always something to play for."

Q. How do you feel you are playing personally?

Newkirk: It's decent. Every week when I turn on the film I see plays that are still left out there and it being my senior year, it haunts you a little more than normal. But I'm still playing hard and having a lot of fun. Even though we haven't been winning, it's still fun to play football. You love the game and it'll love you back. There's still enjoyment in it. There might not be great enjoyment in the scoreboard but it's still fun to play. I'm just trying to appreciate every moment. They don't last forever, so you try to take them for what they are."

Q. That couldn't have been enjoyable tonight.

Newkirk: It is still fun to play. It's not so fun when you're sitting on the sidelines and you're looking at the score. That's when everything kind of hits you. But it's still the game you love, it's still the game you came here to play. All through the week, Saturday is the day I look forward to. That's the one day of the week I get to go out and have fun and do what I enjoy."

Q. Going into the season could you have imagined being so overmatched in a game this year?

Newkirk: "You try to do the best you can. How you match up is how you match up. Penn State has a great team and a great offensive line. Hats off to them. They came out there three out of four years and put a pretty good beating on us, but you've still got to go out there and play and do the best you can."

Q. As a senior and team leader, what can you do to help put things back together and keep them from unraveling further?

Newkirk: "You've still got a lot to play for. Nobody wants to lose, but if you have to there's a certain way to do it. You want to stay classy, give the other team credit where credit's due. Tomorrow we have to come in here, watch the film, make the corrections and move on. It's something that you've got to do or die. We're 3-3 right now, 0-3 in the Big Ten and we're down. Times like these test the character of a team. I guess we'll see what we're made of."

Q. You've already been tested for a couple weeks. How do you see your team responding so far?

Newkirk: "There's definitely things we see improvement on from week to week. We've lost a couple tough ones at the end and this week the score kind of ran away from us a little bit. But I'm sure there are still positives, as well. A lot of times those things get overlooked when you lose and the other team puts up a lot of points. There are still things we're doing right, it's just that we've got to focus on the things we're doing wrong and get them corrected."

Q. How many of your goals for the season are still intact as you head into the second half of the season?

Newkirk: "I still think we have everything to play for. Winning is a lot of it, but there's more to it. It's how you play and what you play for. If you ever ask yourself what you're out there playing for, maybe I might question you being out there at all.

"There are still a lot of things we have to play for. It's how you finish out a season. We can't throw in the towel now just because we got off to a bad start. You've got to finish and persevere. You've got to take on adversity. If nothing else it's just a great thing to teach you about life. Everything in life doesn't go your way. You can cash it in or you can say you're going to line up against it fight every play. That's something that I think we'll do and I look forward to doing."

Q. As this game unfolded, was it one of your worst experiences as a player here?

Newkirk: "You never like to lose at home, especially by that kind of margin. I don' t know if we played as bad as the scoreboard represented. But some things you can't control and you still have to go out and give it your best. I still got to go out and play a night game at Camp Randall. It was a fun time and there were a lot of memories out there. The scoreboard wasn't in our favor, but there were still a lot of memories I'm going to carry with me."