It wasn't going to be a happy football season at Penn State.

After an entire month of football, the Nittany Lions hadn't won a single game and they were headed into what seemed to be the toughest stretch of their schedule.

They were traveling to Northwestern, then coming home to play Ohio State. An 0-4 start, something never seen at Penn State, was a reality, and an 0-6 start was a probability.

It was going to be a very long, long season.

How things change so quickly.

The Lions have won five of their last six, only losing by five points to 10-1 Illinois during that streak. They've beaten Indiana and Michigan State in back-to-back weeks to keep their postseason hopes alive and now only have to beat 4-7 Virginia to be bowl eligible.

"I felt very bad that we had not done better than 0-4 in the first four games," coach Joe Paterno said. "I just didn't feel that an 0-4 season was representative of the type of football team we had."

And Penn State has proved that in the past six games. Paterno credits the success of his Lions to three main things. First the offensive line has stayed healthy. Second, the receivers are finally catching the ball and the team isn't committing what he likes to call dumb penalties.

Paterno added that he never felt the team was that bad, just that they faced tougher opponents that they might not have been prepared for that early in the season.

No one would argue that starting the season against No. 1 Miami with a young, inexperienced squad is the best way to get some confidence in your players.

Freshman quarterback Zack Mills, who was named the starter for the regular season finale at Virginia tomorrow, said the bye week after the Lions lost 20-0 to Michigan was a boost for many reasons.

It gave the Lions a fresh start, gave them time to regroup and gave them some confidence to enter their final seven games on a clean slate.

"The big thing with the turnaround was the bye week after the 0-4 start," Mills said. "Once we got our confidence, we were able to get on a roll."

Hard to believe, but some are saying this might be Paterno's best coaching job. The 74-year-old has shown a lot of poise and determination, just like his players, in the past six games.

Paterno has taken a team that was on the brink of disaster and turned it around to a squad that is one win away from going to another bowl game. Penn State won't be playing for a national championship or won't win a Big Ten title, but they have turned around a disappointing season to an exciting one.

If they can beat the Cavaliers, they will probably be playing somewhere in Texas in late December -- a far cry from where most people thought they would be playing after the first four games, which was no where.

And Paterno deserves a lot of credit for showing patience to his squad and making the proper changes to make his team the best they could be.

Of course though, he doesn't want any of the recognition.

"Whether we did a good job or not, if we did a good job, you have to give the assistant coaches credit," Paterno said. "I don't do that much."

Yeah right, coach.