CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- All signs pointed towards it. A trip to a late December bowl game seemed inevitable for Penn State.

After winning five of their last six contests, the majority of which came in dramatic fashion, the Nittany Lions arrived in the middle of the scenic Virginia mountains for what was supposed to be the final stepping stone to the postseason.

And when the Lions loaded up for their pregame bus ride from their hotel to Charlottesville's Scott Stadium, the 72 degree, sunny weather had to give them a feeling that the powers that be were sending them a message that access to their coveted destination was going to be granted.

But alas, these Lions used up the last of their nine lives as Virginia (5-7) exacted a supreme second half defensive effort to knock the Lions (5-6) off the postseason express, 20-14.

"Virginia played a great football game," Paterno said. "They played hard and they hustled and they knew what they were doing and held on to the football. They deserved to win the game."

But it didn't appear that way in the first half as the Lions jumped out to the early lead when tailback Eric McCoo scampered around the right side of the Penn State offensive line for a three-yard score to make it 7-0 midway through the first quarter.

The Cavaliers got on the board the next series with a field goal but the Lions notched their second touchdown when fullback Mick Blosser hauled in a four-yard toss from Zack Mills to make it 14-3 at the halfway point of the second quarter.

Virginia would go on to tack on a field goal before the break to cut the deficit to eight, but it was apparent the Lions were in control of the game even though both teams' halftime numbers were fairly similar.

But the funny thing about game control is that it can change hands on just one play.

The Lions found that out the hard way.

After stopping the Cavaliers on their opening drive in the second half, the Lions marched deep into Virginia territory and appeared headed for the knockout blow before that fickle thing called momentum took a violent turn.

On a third and six from the Virginia eight yardline, Mills dropped back and scanned the Cavalier secondary for an open receiver. Finding none, he took off to his left and was pulled down by linebacker John Duckett.

In the process, the ball came loose. Cavalier cornerback Art Thomas scooped it up and raced 92 yards for a touchdown, allowing the Wahoos to get within one.

But was it a fumble? Although there's really no concrete evidence, it did appear that Mills' knees might have been down before the ball came loose.

But that's of no comfort to the freshman signal caller.

"It was a close call but it wouldn't have been an issue if I had protected it," he said.

Everything unraveled for the Lions from there. Mills went on to throw two interceptions (after getting picked off once in the first half) while replacement Matt Senneca tossed one of his own in relief.

"They were just rushing three guys and dropping eight defenders," Senneca said. "When you have just three receivers on eight defenders, it's kind of hard to find somebody open. They forced us to make mistakes."

Meanwhile, Virginia's offense seemed to liven a bit when coach Al Groh opted to pull quarterback Matt Schaub in favor of the more athletic Bryson Spinner in the third quarter.

The result: Virginia began to move the ball more effectively and was able to milk precious minutes off the clock. In addition, the Spinner-led Cavaliers grabbed the lead late in the third period when Alvin Pearman took an option pitch and dashed into the end zone for a 16-yard score.

But the Cavaliers let the Lions hang around by missing a couple of would-be game clinching field goals. However, Mills, who was reinserted late in the fourth quarter, ran out of magic and threw his last pick with just more than a minute left in the game.

So the team that had everything to lose did, while the team that had nothing to gain prevailed.

"I thought we had our best win today and played our best game so far," Groh said. "Our greatness lies in the future and tomorrow we have to go get it."

Now the Lions have to face the grim reality that they will spend a second straight holiday season at home. There's no more practices, and it's time to get ready for finals.

As for Paterno, his job changes gears a bit. The season may be over, but his work is still piling up.

The recruiting season really hits high gear soon and several blue chippers will be visiting Happy Valley over the course of the next two weeks. It'll be Paterno's job to woo much of this prized talent and get them into those blue and white uniforms.

It's a job Paterno is looking forward to doing.

"We have to get this program back to what it was a couple of years ago," Paterno said. "I think that's a job that has to be done right now. Hopefully, we did some things this year that will get us back there."