The crowd rose to its feet, and as the Penn State men's gymnastics team accepted its third place plaque Friday night in Rec Hall, head coach Randy Jepson felt it sweep over him.

Vindication.

"You expect seniors to step up in that situation," he said. "We showed that we are one of the best in the country."

Ohio State took home the Big Ten title with an astronomical score of 217.275. Led by the top two all-arounders Jamie Natalie (55.350) and Raj Bhavsar (54.925), the Buckeyes, who came into the meet ranked fourth in the country, clearly established themselves as the favorites entering the NCAA Championship, which will be held in Columbus.

"This is what it's all about," Ohio State coach Miles Avery said. "All of the dual meets, all of the rankings — none of it meant anything. This is what we wanted."

Michigan also showed incredible depth, scoring a 216.000. Penn State finished with a season-high 214.275, followed by Illinois (214.175), Michigan State (211.950), Iowa (210.850) and Minnesota (208.800).

The Nittany Lions came into the meet last in the Big Ten. And although Jepson guaranteed they wouldn't end the weekend that way, he didn't expect this.

"The momentum was incredible through to the end," he said. "We just rode the wave to the shore."

A strong showing on the floor got the Lions fired up, and they carried that intensity throughout the meet. The Lions faltered on the parallel bars and pommel horse, two events that are traditionally low scoring. They also had an off night on vault.

"We'll have to make up some points there," he said. "We weren't as sharp as we can be."

But on the floor after the meet, the overwhelming consensus was that the Lions had arrived. Sure, all the coaches were spewing the rhetoric before the meet that any team could walk away with a title.

Clearly, Penn State's performance caught the Big Ten — and the nation — by surprise.

"You know everyone is in it," said Avery, who was named Big Ten coach of the year. "But Penn State stood out tonight. They were so solid."

Natalie, the Big Ten gymnast of the year, said that the individual title didn't mean anything to him, but he wanted to win it anyway.

"It was unbelievable," he said. "I've been waiting four years to win a Big Ten title. The individual is just icing on the cake."

The meet was a ruckus of emotion. With all six events run simultaneously, the crowd was abuzz. Emotions were high, with gymnasts pumping fists and letting loose loud yells after sticking a landing. There was even some trash talking between teams.

In the crowd, there was a battle of Big Ten chants between the color-coded fans.

"Penn State always does an awesome job," Avery said. "What an incredible night. The talent here is phenomenal."

Avery said that he felt like he was at the Olympics when the Ohio State banner was raised while the Buckeye fight song filled Rec Hall. His team crowded the podium and he raised his hand to them from across the gym. They pointed back at him.

And although the Buckeyes, Wolverines and Lions seem to have all the momentum heading into NCAAs, it's still anyone's game. Last season, Penn State finished sixth at Big Tens but walked away with the NCAA title.

It is a fickle sport.

"It's probably going to come down to the last rotation," Natalie said. "All the Big Ten teams are going to improve. They're going to be ready."