Penn State's sidelines had emptied, but Maurice Evans remained standing atop the Lions bench for a few lengthy seconds after Saturday's win over Wisconsin.
The cheering Beaver Stadium crowd drowned out memories of the two unstable, mistake-filled losses to Michigan and Illinois. The sight of his teammates celebrating on the field was what mattered to the sophomore defensive lineman, not the past week of off-the-field distractions.
"I just felt good," Evans said. "It was a big win."
It was hard to imagine this victory three weeks ago, when a frustrated Penn State team lost to Michigan for the ninth time in a row. The prospect of a win over Wisconsin grew even bleaker after a day of missed opportunities and mistakes in a close loss at Illinois.
A 2007 season that began with players drawing parallels to the 2005 team and predicting a national championship run looked like it was coming to a screeching halt. If you were expecting that instability, those mistakes, those missed opportunities to become a continuing trend, nobody would have blamed you.
But, after Penn State's resounding, 38-7 win Saturday -- only its second over a ranked opponent since 2005 -- there are a couple reasons to believe that the 2007 team won't suffer a total meltdown.
Throughout their first six games, Penn State's running backs couldn't hold onto the football -- seniors Austin Scott and Rodney Kinlaw combined for seven fumbles through last week's game against Iowa.
This weekend, Kinlaw and redshirt freshman running back Evan Royster -- indefinitely filling in for a suspended Scott -- showed that they know how to hold onto the football.
If only the running game could have demonstrated that skill earlier. It might have made all the difference in the loss to Michigan. Maybe it will make all the difference when now-No. 1 Ohio State comes to town in two weeks.
If the fumbles had continued to plague the Lions running game through this weekend, we could have sat back, expecting a blowout at the hands of Ohio State in two weeks. Now, there could be a real showdown in store for us.
Quarterback Anthony Morelli also gave fans a reason to be optimistic after Saturday's game -- because his play through the season's first six games didn't.
Starting out the season by beating three teams that now hold a combined record of 4-16 doesn't prove much, but consistently airing it out and finding open receivers against Wisconsin's experienced defense shows a lot.
After Morelli threw no interceptions Saturday, fans should be a little more optimistic when Penn State's offense lines up across from Indiana and then Ohio State.
Until Saturday, Penn State had not beaten a ranked opponent since the Outback Bowl. If it beats Indiana next weekend, its game against Ohio State in two weeks becomes a lot more meaningful -- the Lions will get a shot at showing the country that they really belong among the top 25.
If Penn State lost Saturday, the Lions would be looking toward a bleak end to the season -- perhaps in Detroit, for the Motor City Bowl. Armed with an offense that can play mistake-free football, a New Year's Day bowl is still a possibility for the Lions.
But that's still months away -- the more immediate effect of Saturday's win should be a confidence boost, with Indiana next week and Ohio State looming after that.
"We ran the ball well, passed and caught the ball well," wide receiver Jordan Norwood said. "That's how we feel like we should be playing week in and week out."
Kevin Horan is a senior majoring in journalism and political science and a Collegian football writer. His e-mail address is kjh5017@psu.edu.
