One more step to take, and it will come on the most emotional day possible for a group of seniors who have dragged the Penn State football program out of the mud.
After a heartbreaking loss to Iowa, the goal was to win out. That goal remained after an overtime loss to Michigan and again after Ohio State held out to win at Columbus.
All along, the 22 seniors preached that there would be another day. A group that could have given up so many times before didn't see any reason to fold this season, even after the controversial calls and last-minute letdowns.
For those seniors, including 12 starters, tomorrow will be the last chance to walk out of the tunnel at Beaver Stadium when the No. 16 Nittany Lions (8-3, 4-3 Big Ten) take on Michigan State (4-7, 2-5 Big Ten) at 3:30 p.m.
Though the images of Larry Johnson charging through defensive lines will linger for a long time, a basic life lesson will be this group's legacy.
"If you're going to remember one thing, it's probably going to be their perseverance," redshirt sophomore quarterback Zack Mills said. "You look at some of the things that happened and what they've been through, and this year, if a couple things go differently, we're right up there in the BCS race."
The seniors were part of Penn State head coach Joe Paterno's only consecutive losing seasons.
Some, like Jimmy Kennedy, were a part of it on the field.
"I think this senior class did a good job of putting Penn State back on the map," he said. "We showed the younger guys that you have to be a blue-collar worker and you have to want it."
Others, like Johnson, had to wait their turn and watch as the program struggled.
"Right now, we're just waiting for our last chance to play," he said. "We're not worried about anything else."
This class is the reason Paterno cares about this football team more than any other. He's said that throughout the year, but more importantly, he's shown it by taking public stances in their defense.
He has butted heads with the referees and shielded his players from the prying questions of reporters.
Now, this team has to play Michigan State and then wait to find out where they'll be bowling.
The main story lines in this manufactured "rivalry" (the Land Grant trophy?) will be the continued resurgence of a Michigan State team that has lost two captains and the head coach since the beginning of the year.
Quarterback Jeff Smoker is in drug rehab and tailback Dawan Moss is off the team after being arrested and charged with, among other things, fleeing and eluding a police officer.
A day after Moss was booted, coach Bobby Williams was fired because he had lost control of the team.
Offensive coordinator and interim head coach Morris Watts has energized the Spartans' offense, leading them to a 1-1 record and 98 points in two games.
Of course for Penn State there is the small issue of Johnson's pursuit of 2,000 yards and a spot at the Heisman ceremony in New York.
Paterno would not say whether he would make a concerted effort to get Johnson over the monumental mark. And while the rest of the team is toeing the company line, it is clear that they are at least conscious of Johnson's situation.
"If it's there, we're going to do it," Mills said. "We'll go to their weakness and take what they're giving us."
Senior defensive tackle Anthony Adams offered his theory on why Larry Johnson has emerged as one of the best running backs in the country.
Adams scored on a goal line run in the Blue-White game last April, and Johnson took notice.
"LJ knew after the Blue/White game that his spot was threatened," Adams said. "He's going to go out and play one of his best games because he's knows they can call my name anytime. Once he saw me dive over the pile like that, he got scared, and he's been running scared ever since."
Adams is among the most energetic and boisterous players on this, or probably any Penn State team.
But tomorrow will be tough.
"A lot of guys are going to be teary-eyed," he said. "We could go down in history as some of the guys who turned this program around."
