Underneath it all -- under the affected glances of the players, under the furrowed brow of their coach, under the sheer exhaustion of a team that came so ridiculously close -- lies one fundamental truth: the Penn State football team (2-4, 0-3 Big Ten) played one heck of a game Saturday.
But the end result, a 20-13 loss to No. 9 Purdue (5-0, 2-0) at Beaver Stadium, was simply another mark in the "L" column, another instance of falling just short, and, to the Nittany Lions, that was frustrating and maddening enough to cancel out any positives.
"We're better, OK? We're better today than we were a week ago," Penn State coach Joe Paterno said, after announcing that players would not be made available to the media. "But we're not good enough. And I'm tired of not being good enough. It's as simple as that."
It didn't matter that quarterback Zack Mills threw for 293 yards, 18 more than Purdue's Heisman Trophy hopeful, Kyle Orton. Nor was it fulfilling that Penn State's defense was the first all season to pick off Orton (twice). And it wasn't even a consideration that the defeat came at the hands of Purdue, a very real contender for the Big Ten crown and a BCS bid.
"We played a really good football team," Paterno said. "And Wisconsin was a really good football team. And Minnesota was a really good football team. But we're Penn State. We're supposed to win those games. And until we do, I'm not gonna be happy."
The defense carried the team at the start, holding Purdue's highly touted offense to just a field goal in the first quarter. But once Purdue put itself up 10-0 with a 2-yard touchdown run, Penn State's offense took the cue to start rolling. On the very next series, the Lions put together a 62-yard drive, capped off by a perfectly thrown 37-yard touchdown pass from Mills right into the hands of receiver Terrell Golden.
And that was just the beginning of the senior's gutsiest performance of the season. Mills then put together a second pass-dominated drive, highlighted by a 16-yard completion to freshman receiver Mark Rubin on third-and-13, which ended in a 38-yard Robbie Gould field goal to tie the game before halftime.
"Over the years I've watched Zack, and I've felt like you don't want to draw this guy on a day when he's hot," Purdue coach Joe Tiller said. "He's had some Saturdays when he's been really, really, really good, and, unfortunately, we drew him on a Saturday when he was really, really, really good."
With the loss of linebacker Paul Posluszny, who led the team with 10 tackles, to a right shoulder injury early in the third quarter, the defense was caught in a slight confusion. Orton took advantage, completing a 40-yard touchdown pass to Taylor Stubblefield, perpetuating the Lions' trend of allowing a key scoring drive just after halftime.
"I've done everything," defensive coordinator Tom Bradley said. "I've walked out of the locker room with my hat backwards. I've done everything there is to change that. I can't explain it."
The defense allowed one more score -- a field goal with 2:48 remaining -- while the offense spent the rest of the game futilely attempting to break into the end zone. Six second-half possessions for Penn State yielded only one score, a 27-yard Gould field goal. And though two fourth-quarter interceptions -- one by Calvin Lowry and one by Anwar Phillips -- returned the ball to the Lions, a failed fake field goal rush by Mills and a missed 45-yard Gould attempt assured no additional scores.
Paterno threw in strong-armed freshman quarterback Anthony Morelli with the clock nearly expired, in hopes that he could lob one final, game-saving touchdown pass from Penn State's 45-yard line. But as the pass fell, incomplete, the "We believe" chants ceased, and the players trudged off the field, burdened with a pain of the worst sort.
"We expected to get a great win," Paterno said. "We came close, but we didn't come up with it. And until we do, I'm going to be frustrated."
"I'll see you guys later," he added, and shuffled hurriedly out of the media room, the evening's defeat simply too much.
