17 - 13, ugly, but we'll take it . . .

Final Score: Penn State 17, Michigan State 13

State College, PA (Sports Network) - Anthony Morelli threw two touchdown passes as the Penn State Nittany Lions overcame a 10-point deficit to defeat the Michigan State Spartans, 17-13, in a Big Ten Conference battle at Beaver Stadium.

Penn State head coach Joe Paterno watched the game from the press box, two weeks after he broke his left leg during a game at Wisconsin.

Morelli completed 17-of-37 pass attempts for 220 yards for the Nittany Lions (8-4, 5-3 Big Ten). Tony Hunt led Penn State's ground attack with 130 yards on 29 carries.
Brian Hoyer completed 30-of-61 passes for 291 yards with a touchdown as the Spartans (4-8, 1-7) lost their fourth game in a row.

Michigan State dominated the opening quarter as it scored 10-unanswered points in the stanza. Hoyer connected with Kerry Reed on an 11-yard touchdown pass and Brett Swanson split the uprights on a 45-yard field goal attempt late in the frame.

The Nittany Lions responded with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Morelli to Andrew Quarless to cut the Michigan State lead to 10-7 midway through the second quarter.

The Spartans pushed their advantage to 13-7 with 1:10 left in the opening half when Swenson nailed a 30-yard field goal which was set up by a Penn State fumble.

Penn State owned the second half and scored 10-unanswered points in the session. Morelli threw the go-ahead, six-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Norwood and Kevin Kelly sealed the victory with a 45-yard field goal with 4:28 left in the ball game.

The Nittany Lions had 325 total yards of offense in the game while Michigan State had 305 yards. Penn State held the Spartans to just 14 rushing yards in the contest. The Nittany Lions won despite losing four fumbles to Michigan State.