It was very much unlike his typical autumn Saturday of his college years.

He was surrounded -- like usual.

Not by thousands of fans in a stadium, but just a few of his buddies from high school.

And his girlfriend, along with a couple of her friends, too. Yeah, it was all those people closest to Andrew Guman -- at least those who don't put on a football helmet as part of their daily routine.

But, really, Penn State's senior safety might as well have been in an empty room.

Because, in his head, Guman was hundreds of miles away in Bloomington, Ind., his TV set serving as the window for his imagination. Which is about as close as he could get to playing in Penn State 22-18 win over Indiana.

"I was kind of in my own world," Guman said with a laugh. "Throughout the game, I kept saying things and going through things in my head like I was in the game. My friends must have been a little annoyed with me"

Well, if they were, they'll surely excuse him. After all, when a football player as intense as Guman is has to sit out at least two of the last three game of his senior year, he going to feel certain mixed emotions.

Watching his teammate earn their first Big Ten win while he sat home nursing a collapsed lung, for example, he was overcome with joy. As his teammates finished off a captivating goal line stand, he leapt out of his chair in celebration.

But he also knew that, if he were healthy, he would have been on the field for that stand. And as that sunk in he felt a little regretful.

When defensive lineman Scott Paxson first saw Guman after the victory against Indiana he said: "Hey, we won."

"I watched you guys win," Guman replied. "I didn't win."

It's that somber feeling that's driving Guman to get back on the field for his last game in Beaver Stadium. Problem is, a collapsed lung isn't quite like a twisted ankle or even a broken finger. It's not an injury a tough guy like Guman can gut out, although he certain tried.

When the injury first happened during the third quarter of the Ohio State game, Guman thought the helmet he took to his back was merely a bruise. He even stayed on the field for a few more plays and helped force a fumble.

But then when he sat on the bench after running off the field jubilant, he felt a pain running through his back and chest, and he struggled to get the slightest breaths of air into his body.

"I really had to focus just to get breaths in my lungs," he said. "It was pretty scary at first."

X-rays later revealed that the membrane of Guman's lung had separated from his rib cage, forming small hole in his lung that almost required surgery.

Still, he will give it a try this week after sitting out the past two games, but nothing with his injury is guaranteed, of course. This injury has been especially tough on Guman -- simply because it completely out of his hands. Just like that Indiana game he had to watch on TV.

At the end of the week, he'll start seeing contact again in practice. If his lung hold and he can take the hit, he'll play. If it can't, he won't. It's that simple.

"I'm really anxious and optimistic," he said.

"I hoping to get that chance to get back on the field with that Penn State uniform on."