Some students might still be scrubbing the blue paint off their chests or recovering from two nights of camping out at Paternoville -- a testament to Saturday's break-out-the-riot-police atmosphere.

It was an environment that managed to impress both teams' players and coaches. It was the second-largest crowd in Beaver Stadium history -- 110,007 screaming fans, complete with a "White Out" student section, managed to show up.

"The venue here, the stadium, the crowd, the students: It's as exciting as any that I have been around," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "I thought, God, how exciting for every guy that played in this game because this crowd was really special."

The fans weren't particularly easy on Chad Henne either, a fact he noticed as soon as he stepped off the bus.

Henne said he was called names "that were not politically correct" and compared the weekend's environment to the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry. He also said he had to scream on top of his lungs at the line of scrimmage -- something, he admitted, he doesn't experience often.

"It's not like that every place," he said. "There were lot of fans at the gates just waiting for us to come out. It's a great place to play."

On Penn State's side, it was a similar sentiment.

The game was often likened to last season's Ohio State contest, and even third-string quarterback Paul Cianciolo couldn't resist from weighing in on the mass football craze.

"We got the best crowd in the country, without a doubt," Cianciolo said. "I'm from the South, and I wasn't really familiar with these guys until I got here. But people talk about all the other schools and their fan bases, but I haven't seen one that gets behind their players any more than Penn State University."

Linebacker Sean Lee, who led the team with nine tackles, agreed. Lee believed the fans were one reason why the Lions weren't going to give up on the season.

"Especially after a loss, you're down and you hear that your fans are still behind you. It's a great feeling. That not only helps us after the game, but that's going to help us prepare for the next game," Lee said. "The season, is it spiraling out of control? No. When we have fans like that who support us, we're not going to give up. Ever."

Day to remember

Offense: Tony Hunt. Penn State's workhorse ran for only 33 yards but also led the team with 85 receiving yards. He accounted for more than 60 percent of the Lions' total offense and was a big reason why the game was so close.

Defense: Paul Posluszny. The leader of "Linebacker U" turned in another solid performance by recording seven tackles. He also collected one sack and two tackles for loss.

Day to forget

Offense: Offensive line. It was easily the line's worst performance to date. The five up-front allowed seven sacks and didn't offer Hunt much help either. It was the first time in Joe Paterno's 41-year coaching career where walked off the field with negative rushing yardage. Penn State had minus-14 rush yards.

Defense (Play to forget): Mike

Hart's run in the final quarter. No one defensive player played awful, so it wouldn't be fair to call one out. However, there was one specific play the defense probably wants to forget. With Hart wrapped up, time winding down and the score at 17-10, Jay Alford couldn't bring Hart to the turf as he scampered 23 yards for a first down.

Quotable

Defensive tackle Ed Johnson when asked about Michigan: "They ain't nobody special to us ... Just because it says 'Michigan' on their uniforms, we don't treat them any different from anybody else. We don't look at it like we went toe-to-toe with Michigan like they're some sort of big bad wolf."

Did you notice?

Fans trying to persuade Ki-Jana Carter to jump into the student section a la the Nittany Lion ... Scattered yells of "Give back Paternoville" when Graham Spanier stepped on the field ... A Michigan fan getting booed out of the student section with chants of "Har-ry Pot-ter" ... Lynn Swann making a cameo ... Kirk Herbstreit pointing to the student section when he was on the field: "Ridiculous, man" he said ... a "Give Michigan back to Canada" sign.

Extra point

The Lions' hopes at a BCS Bowl are basically finished, but a Capital One or Outback Bowl remains a possibility. Sure, the Lions have three losses already, but it was against Notre Dame and, quite possibly, the best two teams in the nation. Penn State's hardest test may be against Wisconsin from here on out -- the worst of the Lions' schedule is over. With Illinois, Purdue and Temple coming up, it should be mostly one-sided.