After months of speculation, doubt and criticism, the Penn State football team has found shelter.

A grand jury voted not to indict quarterback Rashard Casey. Adam Taliaferro is showing improvement every day. And the Lions have won back-to-back games for the first time this season.

"It was a good turning point for us," defensive end Bob Jones said. "It's just knowing we're doing a big thing. We want to finish up the season with wins. We have a lot of pride."

It was a difficult two months for the Nittany Lions with many aspects of the game hanging in the balance.

At the Ohio State contest on Sept. 23, freshman Adam Taliaferro suffered a spinal injury while making a headfirst tackle. In the weeks that followed, the team prayed fervently for Taliaferro's recovery.

More than a month later, Taliaferro held a press conference to announce his significant improvement.

"I've thought about this constantly," tight end John Gilmore said.

"I've never been on a team like this. It's a special team.

"I thought God really had it in for us at the beginning of the season."

The Lions began the season 2-5, but gave a glimpse of what they were capable of when they beat Purdue 22-20 Sept. 30. After wins against Illinois and Indiana, the team is closer to its goal of winning the final five games of the season.

"I don't know where we are except that I am hopeful we haven't lost track of what we set out to do even before we beat Purdue," coach Joe Paterno said. "We are trying to get better, better and better and see what happens."

The past few days have been better for Casey and it wasn't because of football.

After the grand jury voted not to indict, Casey was exonerated and received numerous apologies from those who were quick to predict guilt.

Despite the hype surrounding Casey, he showed improvement in the past two games.

He has connected more with his receivers and had better protection from a more consistent offensive line.

"I think we're on a good roll right now," linebacker Eric Sturdifen said. "We still have three games to win. We have to concentrate on Iowa first."

Should Penn State win its final three games, a bowl game berth is likely. If those three wins occur, Paterno will break Bear Bryant's career wins record.

"Everything is wonderful now," Gilmore said.

"I guess we had to go through the bad to get to the good."