When the game ended, you probably didn't notice him as he trotted off the field Saturday.

Few did.

Not the photographers, scrambling to snap a picture of every last dejected image from a bitter loss, nor the television cameras, sprinting onto the field for a final glimpse -- the resolution in a hard-fought struggle.

Penn State quarterback Zack Mills stayed on the edge of all this postgame confusion, seeming to want little to do with congratulatory handshakes, despite how deserving they would have been.

Wide-eyed and straight-faced, he instead left the field after the Nittany Lions 20-13 loss to Purdue chameleon-like, discreetly jogging past teammates who walked casually off the turf. People said "nice game" in the fifth-year seniors' direction as he did this.

But Mills didn't pay much attention. He just continued to jog briskly as if he wanted to hide himself from view.

He couldn't really hide, though.

Not after the game he just played. Hard to miss a guy, one would think, after he had just carried an offense devoid of a running game by tossing the football all over the place.

"Great performance by Zack Mills, guys. Wow," Purdue coach Joe Tiller said after the game. "Gutsy, gutsy performance."

Gutsy because a hard hit followed by a grimace of pain often accompanied his throws.

On one play in particular, it didn't look as though Mills would get up after Paul Long, who came untouched off the edge of the line on a corner blitz, hammered him into the ground.

"That just shows me he's got heart. That he's a true football player, not just a prissy quarterback," Purdue defensive end Ray Edwards said. "I thought he was done."

Mills was far from done, though.

Despite the numerous hits and the persistent pain, his throws were still often accurate. Mills finished 29-for-49 with 293 yards and a touchdown. These statistics are similar to what Mills had in the previous game with Minnesota, but this outing was much more impressive.

Mills showed an ability to stretch the field like he used to when he recognized single coverage on redshirt freshman wide out Terrell Golden and threw a deep pass for a 37-yard touchdown.

Though not quite spectacular, Penn State's ability to convert on third down, including third-and-long, was an encouraging 5-for-16.

"I thought it was one of the gustiest performances I've ever seen," Tiller said. "Today, I don't want to say he was in a zone, but he was nearly in a zone."

This game probably won't be remembered among his career-best, however -- only because it was in a losing effort. He threw for 200 yards for a school-record 16th time, tying Kerry Collins for the all-time Penn State mark, and his 29 completions were a personal best.

It was just another game in a series of unfortunate circumstances that have made up the large part of a Penn State career for Mills.

That this could happen in a season so wrought with criticism is the cruelty of it.

Because this time, even his best wasn't good enough.