He was showered with red roses as he trotted through the tunnel into the locker room. As the crowd roared, Ki-Jana Carter pointed his right index finger toward the stands.

Then, "Heisman" chants echoed inside Beaver Stadium.

In 11-0 Penn State's 59-31 triumph over Michigan State (5-6, 4-4 Big Ten) Saturday before 96,493 at Beaver Stadium, Carter was unstoppable. The tailback sliced up the Spartan defense for 227 yards.

He carried the ball 27 times, and reached the end zone on five of those carries, capping off what could be a Heisman Trophy-winning regular season.

"I guess I had a good season," Carter said with a smile.

Nittany Lion quarterback Kerry Collins -- also trying to gain Heisman votes -- was equally as impressive as Carter against the Spartans.

Collins completed 16 of 24 passes for 289 yards.

"If there's a better running back in the country or a better quarterback than Kerry Collins in the country, they gotta be . . ." Coach Joe Paterno said. "Those two guys are able to do things in the tough games."

Led by Carter and Collins, Penn State's offense was unstoppable Saturday, racking up 27 first downs, and compiling 653 total yards.

"I don't see any NFL offenses like that," Michigan State quarterback Tony Banks said.

The Nittany Lions also converted 60 percent of their third downs.

"You can see why Penn State is rated as high as they are," Perles said. "They're as explosive an offensive team as I've seen in a decade."

While the offense was sparkling, Penn State's defense was once again suspect, particularly in the intial 30 minutes.

On the 11th play of the Spartans' opening drive, Banks rifled a 31-yard pass to receiver Derrick Mason, who scampered into the end zone upon catching the ball.

After Penn State receiver Bobby Engram and Carter both scored touchdowns, the Spartans struck again. Mason busted through Penn State's special teams, scoring on a 100-yard kickoff return. The cheers of the crowd, which had increased in volume with Penn State's intial two touchdowns, were suddenly silenced.

Field goals by both teams and a 1-yard scoring plunge by Lion running back Brian Milne rounded out the first-half scoring.

As the third quarter opened up, Penn State continued its torrid scoring pace. And the blue-and-white defense stepped up.

"It's much easier to play defense when the offense scores a lot of points," Willie Smith said. "It allows us to be more aggressive."

Perhaps the most eye-opening play of Saturday's game occurred with 12:28 remaining in the fourth quarter. Collins threw a 56-yard bomb to wideout Freddie Scott, who caught the ball without breaking stride.

"Kerry put it right on the money," Scott said. "I kept thinking, 'Don't drop it. You caught it. Score.' That put an exclamation point on the season."

And on Collins' career inside Beaver Stadium.

"Kerry was superb," Paterno said.

With 4:44 remaining in the game, Carter was 23 yards shy of gaining 200 yards. After Carter pleaded, Paterno decided to let the Lions' star tailback go for the yards.

On the ensuing play, Carter not only gained those 23 precious yards, but he scampered an additional 27 yards for another touchdown.

"He's incredible," offensive lineman Marco Rivera said. "He's something special. He just needs a couple of inches."

Following Penn State's victory, Paterno accepted the Big Ten championship trophy and the Rose Bowl invitation. Then he was quick to praise this year's undefeated Nittany Lions.

Paterno said, "It's hard for me to believe anybody can beat us. I don't know if we can play much better than we played today."

He'll find out on Jan. 2.