Finally! Spartans whip Penn State

"I was surprised with the way they ran," Paterno said. "I knew they were going to run, but I thought it would be a contest. They're good backs, but we've got to tackle better than we did."

Irvin rushed 28 times for 238 yards and three touchdowns; he also caught one of two touchdown tosses by Todd Schultz. Renaud rushed 21 times for 203 yards, including a 42-yard scoring dash. Afterward, Michigan State (4-4 Big Ten, 7-4 overall) accept

AP PHOTO Michigan State's Marc Renaud ran for 203 yards and a touchdown as he and Sedric Irvin combined for 441 rushing yards to beat Penn State, 49-14, on Saturday.

ed an invitation to play in the Aloha Bowl on Christmas Day.

It was the first time Penn State (6-2, 9-2) had ever had an opponent with two 200-yard rushers. The Spartans' 452 total rushing yards allowed were the most ever by a Penn State team, topping the old mark of 425 yards by Notre Dame in 1989.

"I thought we practiced well this week," Paterno said. "The thing I don't think people realize is how good Michigan State is, and that worried me. Michigan State really killed themselves all year.

"They really should have been an 8-2 team if they kicked a couple of field goals."

Penn State was outplayed through much of the first half, but came back from a 14-0 deficit to tie the score 14-14 at 3:45 of the third quarter. Then, the Spartans answered with two touchdowns in a span of 2:56 and added three more touchdowns before the game's end.

"What I was most proud of is the way we came back after they tied it up," Michigan State coach Nick Saban said. "There have been times when we've shown a capacity to not be able to respond to a situation like that."

It was Michigan State's first victory over a ranked opponent since dec. 4, 1995, when the Spartans upset No. 7 Michigan. It was also the first time the Spartans had knocked off a team ranked higher than No. 5 since a 1990 victory over Michigan.

Penn State's Curtis Enis rushed for 106 yards on 16 carries, including a 54-yard touchdown dash, giving him a school-record eight straight games of 100 yards or more, breaking the mark set by Blair Thomas in 1989. Enis has 17 career games of 100 yards.

Mike McQueary, who was 13 of 27 for 176 yards with three interceptions, passed 14 yards to Joe Jurevicius for Penn State's other touchdown. Still, the Nittany Lions were held to 313 yards and only 14 first downs. Penn State turned the ball over four times.

"I've said since August that Michigan State was going to be the toughest game of the year," McQueary said. "They proved me right today. Still, it's hard to say why we lost. But at certain times this season we have lost our focus. All we can do now is regroup and try to play a great bowl game."

The loss snapped Penn State's four-game winning streak against Michigan State and denied Paterno his 299th career victory.

"These things are hard to explain," Paterno said. "All of a sudden they get loose, they get confident, and they take off. Then we can't get in a groove."

Schultz, who completed 17 of 23 for 144 yards with one interception, tossed a 19-yard touchdown pass to Gari Scott in the first quarter and Renaud went 42 yards for a 14-0 lead with 3:48 left in the second quarter.

But the Nittany Lions quickly rallied. Enis broke his long touchdown run just before the half and McQueary connected with Jurevicius for the score with 11:15 still remaining in the third quarter.

"We felt good at that point," McQueary said. "It was 14-14. We thought things were going to start going our way."

12-01-97