BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- They believed they could stop them. Probably about as much as they ever believed they could do anything in this dizzying and unsteadying season.

And they did.

They stopped the Hoosiers on fourth-and-goal from the 1, and the game was all but over.

The game was over, and -- miraculously -- somehow, it wasn't a loss. This time, it was a win for Penn State, by a 22-18 score against Indiana Saturday at Memorial Stadium.

With a first-and-goal from Penn State's 1-yard line in the waning minutes, though, the Hoosiers (3-7, 1-6 Big Ten) had four tries to steal a win of their own.

After connecting on two clutch pass plays to get into the red zone, Indiana executed four running plays from the 1, but the Penn State defense pushed the Hoosiers' offensive line back on each down and made tackles, preserving a victory with a dramatic goal-line stand.

That touched off a celebration one wouldn't expect in such a seemingly inconsequential game between cellar dwellers in the Big Ten Conference.

"We knew we did whatever we had to do to win this game," Penn State defensive end Tamba Hali said. "It was very emotional."

And to think, only minutes before, the Penn State coaches momentarily considered letting Indiana score to conserve game clock and allow enough time for the Lions offense to move the ball downfield for what would have been a come-from-behind, go-ahead score.

Though it was brought up, it sounded as if Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley was having none of it. He wanted to give his defensive guys a chance to win the game.

"If we decided to let Indiana score, I was going to show a side of me that [said] I didn't believe in them," Bradley said of his defensive players. "If I didn't believe we could stop them, then how could they believe it? This was a game where they needed to believe."

For once this year, the Lions (3-7, 1-6) believed in something, and it actually happened -- though they had a little help.

It seemed fortunate the Lions even got to the point where they could make such a noteworthy stand in the shadow of their own goal post.

For Penn State, the game started auspiciously with the Hoosiers intercepting an ill-advised pass by Penn State quarterback Zack Mills. Two plays after the change in possession, Indiana wideout Courtney Roby took a triple option pitch out of a shotgun formation from quarterback Matt LoVecchio and streaked through the Penn State secondary for a 26-yard touchdown.

Near the end of the first quarter, the Lions tied it at 7-7 with a 33-yard pass from Mills to utility player Michael Robinson, who was initially ruled out of bounds until the call was overturned by an instant replay review.

Penn State was just as fortunate later in the game. An Indiana drive in the third quarter stalled when referees overturned what appeared to be a third-down conversion pass, ruling that Indiana receiver Travis Haney stepped out of bounds before making a catch along the sidelines.

Fans who have been calling for Anthony Morelli to get playing time got what they wanted in the second quarter, but the true freshman quarterback made a rookie mistake, throwing into coverage. Indiana linebacker Kyle Killion ran the resulting interception back for a touchdown, and the score was 13-7 after a missed extra point.

Unlike it had all season, the Penn State offense rose to the occasion. It scored a go-ahead touchdown on a long drive in the third quarter, and then, when the Hoosiers responded with a fourth-quarter drive that ended with a field goal, the Lions scored another go-ahead touchdown with a drive on which Indiana committed several foolish penalties.

That made the score 22-16, setting the stage for the game-deciding goal-line stand.

"These kids played hard, as I've said all year," Penn State coach Joe Paterno said. "I hope maybe now they can start thinking about themselves as being a little better than most people tell them they are."