It wouldn't be surprising to hear Penn State football coach Joe Paterno say these last four weeks have felt like the longest 10 years of his life.

After Penn State's 21-20 punch-in-the-stomach loss to No. 7 Ohio State on Saturday, Paterno and his players dressed in frowns and disbelieving eyes as they tried to explain where exactly the game went wrong. Following a week of practice that some players said was the best all season and Friday night's pep rally, the Nittany Lions finally played to their potential, only to lose their closest game yet.

While the last three Penn State-Ohio State games decided by a total of nine points, the budding rivalry has seen its share of thrills. But this one, Paterno said, left him with little.

"I'm exhausted," Paterno said. "I'm physically and emotionally exhausted. It's been a long week. It's been a week where we've worked like dogs to build to a crescendo."

Senior fullback Sean McHugh echoed his coach's sentiment. The Ohio native scored Penn State's first touchdown of the game and his first-career receiving touchdown on a two-yard out pattern pass from quarterbacks Zack Mills in the first quarter.

After a day spent battling the nation's toughest run defense and a week spent listening to harsh criticisms of his head coach, McHugh said he was physically drained. It was especially hard, he said, to come up short of a victory that might have gotten Paterno a reprieve.

"It's been really tough on him," McHugh said. "Joe takes a lot of heat for his team and puts a lot of pressure on himself to take it off of us and we all realize that. To see everything he does for us -- organizing that pep rally [Friday] night and getting this team ready to go, all the hours and his staff, too...my heart breaks for those guys."

Day to remember

Offense: Zack Mills -- The junior quarterback was fantastic when he had to be. Completing 27-of-42 passes for 253 yards and a touchdown, Mills finally looked like the player he used to be. Setting a couple records and silencing even more critics has to add some pretty sweet toppings, too.

Defense: Deryck Toles -- The senior linebacker, a native of Warren, Ohio, gets the nod here for his uncanny play-making ability. His ferocious shot on Ohio State quarterback Craig Krenzel knocked the senior out of the game. Toles finished with a sack and five tackles, and was a strong presence in the Buckeyes' backfield all day.

Offense: Levi Brown -- Ohio State's all-everything defensive end Will Smith absolutely abused the redshirt freshman offensive tackle. Smith was faster, stronger and smarter. Smith finished the game with three tackles for a total of minus-14 yards, including a sack on Mills where Brown blocked Smith for barely a second.

Defense: Alan Zemaitis -- The day started so well, but the second half was brutal for the junior cornerback. Arguably the best defender on the team, Zemaitis was beaten on a four-yard slant pattern for a third-quarter touchdown by wideout Michael Jenkins. On the game's most crucial play, the 6-foot-5 Jenkins again beat the 6-foot-2 cornerback by leaping over him for the game-winning touchdown.

Did you notice?

How many times Paterno pumped his fist and tried to excite the crowd? He couldn't have been any more animated if he was Bugs Bunny...After David Kimball's 48-yard field goal, the scoreboard showed an NCAA Football 2004 graphic of Robbie Gould celebrating after a kick? Priceless irony...How much the players seemed to react to the atmosphere?

Final word

It's hard to imagine how the team will rebound from this loss, but it's equally interesting to remember the glimpse of just how good the Lions could be.