The members of Penn State's defense spent all of last year waiting for the game where they got to take the field with a chance to end the game.

They got their chance in last Saturday's win over Northwestern, but things didn't go quite like they had planned.

Despite being sent back out with 8:52 left in the game after the offense had clawed its way back from a 16-point deficit, the Nittany Lions' overworked defense could not hold. They allowed the Wildcats to march the length of the field for what, at the time, appeared to be the winning score.

On that drive, the Lions appeared to have had the Wildcats stopped when quarterback Brett Basanez eased out of bounds after gaining seven yards on third-and-13.

However, the Northwestern offense was allowed to stay on the field when safety Chris Harrell popped Basanez out of bounds.

This lack of judgment from one of Penn State's elder statesmen was surprising, and it may have cost the Lions the game if it weren't for a clutch play by Harrell's classmate, tight end Isaac Smolko.

On the ensuing series, with Penn State backed up in its own end zone and facing a seemingly insurmountable fourth-and-15, Smolko broke open over the middle and made a diving, 20-yard catch that kept the Lions alive and allowed for Derrick Williams' last-minute heroics.

"It was a very, very, very big play," a relieved Harrell said after the game. "That was the game, obviously."

In a game as crazy as Saturday's, almost nothing that could possibly happen would really be surprising, but it still raised some eyebrows that, with Penn State facing defeat in the face, they chose to go to a player who has drawn the ire of coach Joe Paterno as consistently as anyone on the team.

Surprising to everyone but Smolko's teammates, at least -- quarterback Michael Robinson said after the game that Smolko has the most reliable hands on the team.

"I have a lot of confidence in my hands," Smolko said. "Last week was something that will eat me up for a long time."

He was referring to a play in the previous week's game in which he dropped a pass while streaking wide open down the middle of the field for a near-certain touchdown.

The following Tuesday, Paterno said at his press conference that Smolko was on the verge of becoming a big-time tight end, but that he had to take advantage of his opportunities when they arose. The redshirt senior certainly did that for his only catch against Northwestern.

"You have to have confidence. You can't go out there and run a play if you don't think you are going to get the first down," tackle Levi Brown said. "We worked on that play so much in practice, and we hadn't been throwing to the tight end so we thought he might be open over the middle."

He was, and Robinson delivered probably the gutsiest throw of his up-and-down afternoon. Robinson also said that numerous repetitions in practice gave him confidence that the play would succeed when the time came.

"In practice, we hit it every time," Robinson said. "Smolko gets it every time. He did a great job."

When talking to the media after the game, Smolko was all smiles and eventually made the understatement of a lifetime.

"That was the biggest catch I have had here," he said. "Easily."