The painted chests of 11 Penn State students in the front row of the student section spelled it all:

R-E-D-E-M-P-T-I-O-N-!

Eleven years. Nine losses. That streak is over.

Right in front of the fans, as the clock ticked down to zero at Beaver Stadium, Penn State football players rejoiced after beating the Michigan Wolverines 46-17.

Some let out wild screams of triumph, while others hugged coaches and family members. Some just pumped their fists as Blue Band members sprinted toward the center of the field.

Quarterback Daryll Clark took it upon himself to lead his fellow students in cheers after the game. Clark sprinted toward the student section, climbed a set of stairs and was swallowed by a sea of white.

"It was very, very special. Special for Joe, special for the guys that played the 2005 season," Clark said. "A lot of people saying the Michigan curse -- for the clock to strike zero and have such a lead against a team everybody's been talking about that we can't beat -- was sweet, real sweet."

It wasn't sweet for No. 3 Penn State in the beginning, however.

Michigan held a 17-14 lead at the half after what many Penn State players said was their worst half of football they had played all year.

"We played to not lose. We played not to make mistakes and that's not the way you play a football game," defensive tackle Jared Odrick said. "You play to attack. You play to win.

You play to dominate and that's what we did the second half."

The Wolverines started quick, opting to operate a no-huddle offense to start the game. Freshman quarterback Steven Threet led the Wolverines on scoring drives of 86, 45 and 78 yards. Penn State's defense looked ill-prepared to handle the Wolverine rushing attack, led by Threet and running back Brandon Minor.

Michigan, a team that has averaged just 140 rushing yards per game this season, racked up 110 rushing yards in the first quarter alone.

Penn State captain Josh Gaines said he and his teammates on the defensive line were lined up away from Minor. Each time Michigan ran the ball, Minor or Threet had big holes to run through.

After Michigan's second touchdown, Gaines said he and his teammates simply shifted along the line to limit Minor's running lanes.

"We just bumped over," Gaines said. "Before we were setting up away from the back and then we started setting up to the back. That's the only difference. It sounds dumb, but in this defense, gaps like that, people can take it the distance. Especially superior D-1 athletes."

After the shift, Michigan's offense stalled. The Wolverines didn't score again and generated just 106 yards of offense for the rest of the game.

Gaines said he could feel the momentum shift then, even though Penn State was still behind on the scoreboard.

"Your energy level just rises," Gaines said. "Everything about you just changes, the way you play, the excitement of the game just changes. Even our fans. Even if you're sitting in the crowd, you feel the shift."

In addition to limiting Michigan's running attack, Gaines said the defensive line adjustment drew double teams on him and allowed Odrick to run free to the quarterback. The adjustment paid off in the third quarter when an unblocked Odrick pulled Wolverine quarterback Nick Sheridan down in the end zone for a safety.

With that, the Lions took the lead, and never looked back.

Gaines, Clark and senior wideout Jordan Norwood were all smiles in the media room after the game. Finally, they had beaten Michigan.

Norwood said he could sense how bad the fans wanted to beat the Wolverines after he heard "some choice words" from the student section directed at Michigan fans and players.

Gaines said he talked to former Penn State player and current Chicago Bear Anthony Adams in the days leading up to the game. The talk with a former player who had never beaten the Wolverines made it that much more special to Gaines.

"It's a great feeling to be the team to turn everything around," Gaines said. "It's amazing to be the team to actually get us over the hump. There's a lot of players that come through here that didn't beat Michigan.

"Anthony Adams, he called and said, 'Hey. You need to get this win.' He's in the NFL. He's still doing his thing out there, but he's still worried about us beating Michigan. It still haunts him to today that he didn't beat Michigan."