EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Is it purely for purposes of drama? Why does the Penn State defense torture us so? Why does it allow scores of yards per game yet somehow come up with the right plays at the right time to pull out invigorating victories?

It happened again Saturday at Michigan State, when the Nittany Lions (5-5, 4-4 Big Ten) allowed 24 unanswered points, ripped off 28 straight of their own, then held on to defeat the Spartans 42-37 and preserve their bowl eligibility.

Michigan State (5-5, 4-4) had two chances in Penn State territory in the final 11 minutes, but the Lions held both times. Deryck Toles tackled Charles Rogers two yards shy of the first down marker on 4th-and-7 from the Lions' 14, closing out another thrilling chapter in what is fast becoming an intense rivalry.

"We had two opportunities to get the ball down in there and score," said Michigan State head coach Bobby Williams. "We just didn't come up with the plays."

Only the end of the first half stopped the Spartan offense, which scored on each of its first five possessions to take a 31-14 lead with five and a half minutes remaining in the second quarter.

Michigan State quarterback Jeff Smoker hooked up with Rogers for scores of 59 and 47 yards, while the bruising running of T.J. Duckett and Little John Flowers enabled the Spartans to control the flow of the game.

The second half was a different story, as Zack Mills, who came on for Matt Senneca at the outset of the second quarter, led the Lions to four unanswered touchdowns, including a one-yard quarterback sneak of his own that put Penn State ahead 42-31 after three quarters.

"We still moved the ball but we made a couple of mistakes and just didn't put it in the end zone," said Michigan State tight end Chris Baker. "We started off good but didn't finish it off on offense."

While Mills and the Lions offense were dominating at their end, the defense was coming up with some crucial stops. After Eric McCoo scored his third touchdown of the afternoon to put Penn State ahead 35-31, Bruce Branch separated the ball from Baker, and Anthony Adams recovered at the Michigan State 21.

"At halftime, Coach (Paterno) was just yelling at us, saying we weren't tough enough and not delivering hits," said Penn State safety Shawn Mayer. "We came together as a defense and just tried to come out and be more physical."

Penn State's defense, which came into the game tenth in the conference, allowing nearly 450 yards per game, surrendered 542 Saturday, but once again displayed its finest effort when it mattered most.

"I think we kind of like adversity," Toles said. "We make so many stupid mistakes in the beginning. We're all so loosey-goosey in the beginning but once we're down, everybody just starts playing."