EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Anyone who expected to see Matt Senneca lined up under center for the entire game, raise your hand.

All right, put your hands down, you're lying. The never-ending, ever-entertaining Penn State quarterback carousel continued Saturday at Michigan State, as Zack Mills and his tender left ankle replaced Senneca at the start of the second quarter, leading the Nittany Lions to 28 unanswered points on the way to a 42-37 Penn State victory.

"Zack is a leader and you can feel his presence once he steps into the huddle," said Penn State wide receiver Bryant Johnson. "I guess it's just like a chain reaction because once he comes in, everyone just wants to do better and make a play."

The questionable status of the sprained left ankle that had kept Mills out of the better part of the Illinois game and all of the Indiana game coupled with Senneca's solid performance against the Hoosiers made for a bit of controversy as to which quarterback would start against the Spartans.

Senneca got the nod, and in the middle of a downpour, started things off with a 59-yard pass to Tony Johnson on the game's first play. Four plays later, Senneca went around left end for a three-yard touchdown run.

However, the junior struggled after that, and two series later, Penn State head coach Joe Paterno made the Lions' tenth mid-game quarterback switch of the season, handing the reins to Mills.

"I'm not sure why I put Mills in. I just felt, 'Hey, let's see what will happen,'" said Paterno, who admitted the less-than-desirable weather may have influenced his decision. "The thing about Mills, as compared to Senneca, is Mills has a little tighter spiral. On a windy day, that would probably affect you."

Playing for the first time in two weeks and six quarters, Mills had to shake a little rust off that tight spiral, missing on his first five attempts. The Spartans were flagged for pass interference on two of those throws, however, which enabled the Lions to move the ball while Mills got his feet under him. On third-and-five from the Michigan State 26-yard line, Mills hit Bryant Johnson for a 24-yard gain that set up an Eric McCoo touchdown run, and the Lions were on their way.

Watching the first few series from the sidelines may have also aided the freshman in his first contest against the Spartans.

"It does kind of take the pressure off of you coming in like that," Mills said. "You get to see exactly what they're going to do."

As for the ankle, Mills said it only bothered him a little bit during runs -- he finished with five carries for 18 yards and a touchdown -- and it seemed to have little if any affect on his throwing, as he hit on 12 of his next 14 passes and finished with 240 yards.

Does this mean he's guaranteed a start next weekend at Virginia? Hey -- they don't call it a quarterback carousel for nothing.