It was cold, windy and overcast — hardly bowl game weather.

Nonetheless, Penn State played its version of a bowl game Saturday against Michigan State. For the seniors, the decisive win helped ease the disappointment of not traveling to sunny Florida or Texas in their final season.

"We can't go back and replay the games," senior linebacker Aaron Gatten said. "We always fought back into it, but we kept making mistakes."

In some games, the mistakes came often and in mass quantities. In others, the Nittany Lions looked nearly flawless.

The schizophrenic team showed its dominant personality Saturday.

The defense was crushing and recorded eight sacks. The offense put 42 points on the scoreboard. Even the inconsistent offensive line contributed to 244 team rush yards and allowed one sack.

"I just wish the team that showed up today had shown up all season," Gatten said.

That would have alleviated the bewilderment and confusion that the Penn State staff, players and fans experienced. Not only did the perennially powerful Lions look more like the State College Little Lions, the team suffered through devastating events.

For starters, coach Joe Paterno missed breaking Bear Bryant's career wins record by two games. It wasn't a big deal to the coaching legend, but his players were disappointed that they couldn't achieve the mark for Paterno.

Then there was freshman Adam Taliaferro's spinal injury. It came out of nowhere, was potentially paralyzing and it was a numbing blow to the Penn State family.

And of course there were Rashard Casey's legal troubles. Although he maintained his innocence and his teammates and coaches stood by him, he was constantly berated from all fronts.

Through it all, the coaching staff and players labored to fix the broken machine and make constant adjustments.

"I would never count out Coach Paterno and his staff," Gatten said. "They work their butts off."

Regardless of the coaching staff's work ethic, questions circulated about Penn State's ability to recruit.

Would anyone of significant talent want to play for a 5-7 team?

Several senior players such as Casey and fullback Mike Cerimele said they had no doubts about the program's future. Neither did Paterno.

"I don't think it makes that much difference win or lose," Paterno said. "The people we are trying to convince Penn State is the best place for them, we are trying to go beyond football."

The Lions aren't exactly anemic when it comes to talent. There are experienced and gifted underclassmen such as tailback Larry Johnson, defensive lineman Jimmy Kennedy and wide receiver Eddie Drummond who are ready to lead the program.

And it is those younger players who contributed to the win and made the last game of a disappointing season a little less painful for the seniors.

"I would have liked to win them all," senior defensive end Justin Kurpeikis said. "But it makes it a little easier to go out like this. I didn't think it would end this early. I thought we were going to a bowl game.

"But it makes it a lot easier to swallow."