It has been about three years since the Penn State football team hosted a twilight college football game.

It is about time.

Certainly, it helps students get to the contests after those all-night, all-morning . . . er . . . study sessions. But with the late game and that nifty scoreboard, Nittany Lions enthusiasts could take part in another college football tradition in addition to tailgating: scoreboard watching.

That $93 million investment is starting to pay off. But Saturday, three tough Big Ten teams suffered shortcomings: Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan State. And then Penn State did its part, beating Purdue.

That leaves two Big Ten teams that have competed in two conference contests undefeated.

Those schools? Michigan and Northwestern. This is not 1995, so it is only a matter of (not much) time with Northwestern. The Wildcats will fall soon. That is if they can prevail this week against Indiana.

So we have a middle of the conference standings that are jumbled like seaweed.

What's the point? The Lions are not dead yet.

They have new life and new inspiration after overcoming the nation's top collegiate quarterback in Drew Brees for an inspired 22-20 victory against the then-No. 22 Boilermakers. They are playing for fallen freshman Adam Taliaferro, who is in stable condition after obtaining an injury that has ended his young football career.

It was Taliaferro's loss that lifted the Lions' spirits and gave Penn State the necessary emotion to beat a team like the Boilermakers.

But . . .

"Emotion only lasts you so long," Joe Paterno warns. "There's got to be a determination that you have. That comes from preparation. The will to win is easy. The will to prepare to win is a little tougher."

And so Saturday's game is the true test. Not last week's contest, when Penn State played against a tougher opponent.

When Penn State faces Minnesota Saturday morning in The Twin Cities, we will see if Penn State can continue its emotional expedition through a long haul on a very tough road.

We will see if this can be the competitive team Paterno promised it would be along the journey. Because, although it might seem improbable, Penn State can still go to the Rose Bowl since it entered Big Ten competition.

That depends on other people, but mostly it depends on the team itself.

Will the Lions play with what Paterno diagnosed as The "Here We Go Again" Syndrome during Penn State's shortcomings in inexplicable defeats against Southern California, Toledo and (worst of all) Pittsburgh?

Then again, Penn State has an intriguing foe this weekend on its schedule. It was the Golden Gophers who eradicated the Lions' pursuit of the national championship. Dan Nystrom's field goal over Courtney Brown's and LaVar Arrington's outstretched hands began the downward spiral that some are willing to forget about following Saturday's victory.

But before The Upset — something Paterno has pulled off since his 1996 battle against Northwestern — Penn State had lost seven of its last eight regular season contests since Nystrom booted that kick 32 yards through Beaver Stadium's north end zone uprights.

The Lions must retain their emotional outpouring to defeat a Minnesota team that thrashed conference sleeper Illinois last week before Penn State takes its own Fall Break with a bye week.

"This is just the beginning," quarterback Rashard Casey said. "We hold our own destinies."