EAST LANSING, Mich. -- All he could do was give a quiet snicker.

Penn State quarterback Kerry Collins had just put the finishing touches on a career day. He had completed 23-of-42 passes for 352 yards -- the most passing yardage by a Lion signal caller since Todd Blackledge's 358 yards in 1981 against Miami.

But in Penn State's 38-37 comeback victory at Michigan State on Saturday, Collins proved he's not a one-dimensional player.

Not only did the quarterback complete passes to seven different receivers, he also caught a deflected pass, running it for three yards. A completed pass to himself. When asked about it, the quarterback just laughed under his breath.

Coach Joe Paterno probably won't give him a wide receiver's jersey just yet. However, the coach did give him a lot of the credit for Penn State's massive comeback to Collins.

"He made some great throws to get us back in it," Paterno said. "We didn't want to throw the ball quite as much as they made us throw it, but obviously we had to in the first quarter, because we just couldn't run it."

Penn State's ineffective ground game meant the Lions had to rely heavily upon Collins' right arm in the second half. The redshirt junior responded by leading his team back from a 20-point deficit late in the third quarter.

"He's taken over the offense," wide receiver Bobby Engram said. "It's his team, his ballclub, when we come on the field. He's the man, and he knows that."

The Spartans had just taken a seemingly insurmountable 37-17 lead with two minutes, 54 seconds remaining in the third quarter. The ensuing Penn State drive, a dismal three downs and a punt, left little hope for the Lion faithful in attendance.

But new life came in the form of hero Derek Bochna picking off Spartan quarterback Jim Miller's pass over the middle. Time for Collins and company to go to work.

"We knew we were going to have to throw the ball to win," Collins said afterward.

And throw they did. Collins connected with Freddie Scott for 18 yards before finding Engram for a 40-yard touchdown pass along the right sideline. Just like that, it was 37-24.

On the Spartans' ensuing drive, tailback Duane Goulbourne fumbled, and Penn State got the ball at it's own 40-yard line.

"When we got the turnover, people were just going crazy," tight end Kyle Brady said. "It seemed like everything snowballed from that point on."

And just like the wintery precipitation, the Lions kept piling up points.

Two minutes and two seconds later, fullback Brian O'Neal plunged into the end zone from three yards out. Penn State had cut the lead to six.

For the Spartans, it was three downs and out once again. The Lions got the ball back, 52 yards from the tying six points.

What came next was a play which will remain etched in Spartan memories for years.

Engram, in single coverage, raced past cornerback Howard Triplett and hauled in a 52-yard touchdown pass from Collins.

Both Collins and Engram agreed it wasn't the prettiest pass of the afternoon, but that was no matter. It was just a case of the end truly justifying the means.

"I could see it in his eyes," Collins said of Engram. "We just looked at each other and said, 'We're hooking up on this,' because we knew exactly what they were going to do."

The second-half comeback all but erased the memories of a sloppy first half, in which the Lions surrendered 163 yards rushing. Penn State also lost two of four fumbles, to go along with an interception thrown by Collins.

"We did not play a real good ballgame the first half," Paterno said. "But when we got the opportunities, the kids took advantage."