Joe Paterno jogged off the field on Saturday like he always does, with his rolled khakis and thick bifocals.

However, there were a few differences.

As he reached the south end zone, Paterno looked up into the crowd and was all smiles with a few small tears running down the check of the almost 77-year-old coach.

He was finally over the hump after pounding Indiana 52-7 on senior day.

The Nittany Lions six game-losing streak was history after losing a week earlier to an undersized Northwestern team.

A loss to the Hoosiers would have been detrimental to the Lions. But it didn't happen.

The Hoosiers marched down the field on the first drive of the game, scoring on a 13-play drive as Matt LoVecchio found Glenn Johnson open in the back of the end zone.

You could hear the "oh-no, here we go again" mentality starting to set in for the 85,000 fans (maybe 8,000 students) at the game when the Hoosiers scored.

Penn State showed resolve and bounced back, proving that they were the better team. Over the final 54 minutes of the game, Penn State outscored Indiana 52-0.

There are some positives that a mediocre football team could take from this game.

Believe it or not, the special teams outplayed its opponent for the first time this season.

Penn State Yaacov Yisrael broke through the line in the third quarter to block Tyson Beattie's punt and Andrew Guman wisely made sure that his knee didn't touch the ground rumbling eight yards to glory.

Calvin Lowry returned the second half kick to the end zone, except it was called back for a block in the back.

Way to go wedge. The first time a returner doesn't dance and there is a block in the back.

Or the fact that freshman running back Austin Scott didn't enter the game until there was six and a half minutes left in the third quarter. Why would a team want its best running back in the game?

Scott showed that he was no good when he took four handoffs and rushed for 42 yards. Yes, that's it, the pressure has gotten to him.

After all what can the Lions really take from this game?

As I sit here and think about the actual positives that can be taken from the game, I am drawing a blank.

Yes, Paterno will say it was a good for the seniors to get a win in their final home game. That's great.

Indiana had only 65 scholarship players. If you can't beat them, you should be exiled to AAAA-level high school.

Most high school teams could have arrived at Beaver Stadium and been more competitive than the Hoosiers were. If the Reading and Cumberland Valley buses made a wrong turn andsomehow arrived at Beaver Stadium, instead of Hershey Stadium, those two squads would have combined to score at least 10 points against Penn State.

Paterno deep down even knows how little this game really means.

"Well...we're still 3-8," Paterno said. "We've been preaching to hang onto the ball and limit the mistakes and play hard. The win helps us out to show the guys that it can be done, but we are still 3-8."

That's the key right there. Penn State is still 3-8 and have beaten Temple, Kent State and Indiana for its wins. The last time I checked none of these teams are football powerhouses.

The biggest question is how this team will react next week in Michigan State. Most likely, the Lions will come in and lose the game by about 14 points, but be competitive throughout. It's been the Penn State way on the road this season.

The only way that this game has any meaning is if the Lions can go to East Lansing and win the game. Not going to happen.

But hey, Penn State fans shouldn't get to carried away with the victory over 10 kids from the Indiana farms and one average quarterback from New Jersey.

Rather, Penn State should be happy with this win and cherish it.

It hasn't happened too much this season.