EAST LANSING, Mich. -- In the aftermath of Penn State's 31-22 victory over Michigan State, wideout Terrell Golden was content to stand on the south goal line of Spartan Stadium and watch his teammates celebrate the Nittany Lions' first Big Ten Championship since 1994.

He was one of the few Penn State players content with quiet reflection in the wake of the program's biggest win since Golden was in fourth grade.

The scene in the southeast corner of the stadium was a wild one -- a section of blue-and-white craziness in the stands, and a cluster of euphoric but star-struck players on the field, sharing the moment with their loyal traveling contingent.

"I love them; they are the best in the nation," Golden said of the fans, with a dazed 100-watt grin on his face. "Best in the nation. I love them, man."

Golden searched for more words to describe the moment but could find none until fellow wide receiver Deon Butler skipped over to him and in his typically brash way, summed up the significance of the victory.

"Fit me up," Butler said, pointing to his ring finger. "Fit me up."

"My boy D-But said it best," Golden said with a laugh. "Fit me up for my ring."

The ring is something that those who wore the blue and white on Saturday will treasure for the rest of their mortal lives, but the memories of what took place on the field Saturday will undoubtedly last nearly as long.

"I'm in awe right now," defensive tackle Scott Paxson said. "I wish I could have a day like this every day for the rest of my life. This is awesome."

The scene that took place in Spartan Stadium on Saturday would have seemed impossible months ago -- impossible to everyone but the players who lingered on the field enjoying the moment.

Chris Harrell climbed into the stands and posed for pictures with a sign proclaiming, "Big Ten Champs." Tamba Hali held his helmet up to the crowd and slapped hands. Defensive end Matthew Rice and quarterback Michael Robinson embraced, both holding back tears.

"It's been a long season, a lot of people doubting us, a lot of people doubting Joe Paterno, a lot of people doubting this team, but I'm happy. I'm so happy right now I don't know what to say," Robinson said. "There is definitely a sense of redemption to let people know that Penn State is back."

Technically, the win gave Penn State only a share of the Big Ten title in addition to the conference's guaranteed berth in the Bowl Championship Series. By beating Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich., earlier in the day, Ohio State forced a split of the Big Ten crown.

But having beaten the Buckeyes in State College earlier in the year, the Lions made it clear that, in their minds, the conference had only one champion.

"C'mon, man, we beat them," Robinson said. "They know it, we know it; I know we don't have a conference championship to really decide it, but we beat them head-to-head, so what do you think?"

What Penn State or Ohio State thinks doesn't change the fact that, oddly enough, the Big Ten does not recognize head-to-head records as tiebreakers. But it is only fitting that the only two teams to play consistent football this fall were the last two left standing.

The Big Ten as a whole proved to be a wildly inconsistent conference. Michigan State was, at one point, considered to be a legitimate contender for the title, but ended up 2-6 in league play.

Minnesota, which once looked like an offensive juggernaut, faltered down the stretch, and Purdue and Iowa hamstrung their chances with rocky beginnings to their conference schedules.

But to the Lions, the conference can be broken down into two categories -- themselves and everybody else.

"We feel like we are the champions," Hali said. "We beat Ohio State."