As Saturday's game between Penn State and Purdue was ending, Nittany Lion defensive end Josh Gaines hadn't given his partisan sector of the crowd much to cheer about.

A Fort Wayne, Ind., native, Gaines was playing just a two-and-half hour drive from his hometown. It was the second time Gaines had played in Indiana since he graduated from Northrop High School in 2004.

"Oh man. I think I had 46 tickets," Gaines said. "My people came out. My family, friends from back home. In fact, I gave [Purdue defensive end] No. 49, Anthony Spencer, I gave his grandma a ticket 'cause he didn't have one. We're from the same city. We grew up playing each other. So, it was fun."

But while it may have been a good time to play in front of familiar faces, Gaines notched just one tackle the entire game. It wasn't until the final play that the sophomore put himself in the spotlight.

Down to their final play and trailing 12-0, the Boilermakers made one last desperate attempt to crack the scoreboard. Quarterback Curtis Painter snapped a 7-yard pass to wideout Greg Orton.

With would-be tacklers rapidly surrounding him, Orton tossed the ball to wideout Dorien Bryant, who passed it on to running back Jaycen Taylor. It went on like that for 10 laterals until tight end Dustin Keller fumbled the ball directly into Gaines' hands.

Gaines then charged 18 yards to the Purdue 23-yard line before Painter caught him.

"I've never been more tired in my life," Gaines said. "I started off on the left side, sprinted over to the right, came back over to the left, tried to tackle a guy. All of a sudden the ball comes across my face. Then by the time I get the ball, I'm tired. I'm dead tired, but I just started running."

Gaines added a caveat: "If they didn't do all the lateraling and running, I would have definitely scored."

Coincidentally, Painter stopped Gaines from scoring a similar touchdown in a high school all-star game.

Afterward, Penn State coach Joe Paterno compared the play to the 1982 California-Stanford game that saw the Stanford band come onto the field as Cal scored the game-winning touchdown after several laterals. Most of the Lions said they've never been involved in a play quite like the finale against Purdue.

"I really didn't know what to do, so I was just looking around making sure nobody went deep," sophomore safety Anthony Scirrotto said. "I was standing, watching, laughing with Paul [Posluszny] and Donnie [Johnson], like, 'What the hell is this?' "

Gaines had a similar opportunity to score a defensive touchdown earlier this season against Illinois when he recovered a fumble. However, as he took off for the end zone, he fumbled the ball.

After seeing Gaines miss out on another scoring opportunity Saturday, sophomore cornerback Justin King explained why Gaines can't find the end zone.

"He doesn't know what to do with the ball in his hands," King said. "He's a defensive lineman, what do you expect?"

Day to remember

Offense: Tony Hunt. The senior provided most of the Lions' offense, rushing for 142 yards and a touchdown while catching two passes for 36 yards. Thus far, Hunt has 896 rushing yards and eight touchdowns.

Defense: Dan Connor. The junior linebacker earned his second Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honor after racking up a game-high 12 high tackles and intercepting his second pass of the season.

Day to forget

Offense: Penn State's wide receivers. The trio of Jordan Norwood, Derrick Williams and Deon Butler combined for seven catches and 85 yards. Though strong winds consistently altered Anthony Morelli's passes, the receivers dropped at least four balls.

Quotable

Hunt on this week's tempo in practice: "We went every day in practice this week like it was an actual live game. It was an intense week. The Scout team, it was a big battle going on. The Scout team, they were out there tackling guys and they weren't supposed to. But I mean, that's what we kind of needed."

Did you notice?

A Purdue student dressed like Mike Ditka in the stands ... Penn State students badgering a sideline television reporter. The Lion fans screamed "Channel 6" until the reporter put them on film ... Penn State wide receiver Brendan Perretta didn't make the trip because of a back injury he suffered in practice.

Extra point

Scirrotto now has five interceptions and is the Big Ten leader in picks. After the game, Scirrotto told reporters his father said if he gets six interceptions, he would buy his son a car. Scirrotto said he is unsure if his dad is serious or just trying to motivate him.