In the end, these were the key components of Penn State's extraordinary 34-31 upset of the Badgers, a result that brought a 5-place jump in The Associated Press poll from No. 20 to 15, 20 to 17 in the coaches'.

Kennedy's career defensive game included three sacks of Wisconsin's terrific Brooks Bollinger, who was trapped seven times but had an otherwise-exceptional day, going 15-for-25 passing with only one interception, good for 217 yard and second half touchdowns to Brand Williams and Jonathan Orr.

"That's over and done with," insisted Kennedy, whose media tete-a-tete with coach Joe Paterno seemingly reached every corner of Pennsylvania and other key press outposts around the Big Ten. "I didn't go out there and say, 'I have something to prove' to anyone. I went out and proved everything to myself."

Going into Saturday, Kennedy had amassed 13 tackles and no sacks or tackles for loss.

"I didn't have to do anything in order for people to recognize me," Kennedy said. "I feel good with the decision I made and feel good about the season I'm having. It wasn't a statement game or anything."

The official scorer only credited Kennedy with six tackles, but he disrupted the Badgers' huge offensive line all afternoon and Bollinger often displayed the classic quarterback "happy feet," painfully aware of Kennedy's presence.

There are times where playing angry can disrupt, causing a lack of concentration, untimely leaps into the neutral zone, a personal foul or two. But Kennedy's was a controlled fury.

"Phew! Yeah, I did," Bollinger said, asked if he noticed Kennedy's big push and a Lions pass rush that forced him to plant awkwardly at times and on one particularly pressing third-quarter rollout, roll his ankle. "They really came hard..."

The Nitts' hunger -- both offensively and defensively -- was obvious from the opening kickoff. It produced a couple of roughing-the-passer penalties, a personal foul as well, but if anybody questioned Kennedy's leadership afterward, they did so gingerly.

"Y'all take it the way you want to," Kennedy said of a defensive effort that allowed the Badgers 351 yards, but came up with key drive-stopping plays that spiked any serious Wisconsin momentum. "I let (the leadership issue) go. I made my mistakes today and had to learn from them."

Mills, meanwhile, took a litle less pounding than last week, but perhaps showed some of his best poise in a Penn State uniform.

Gould had booted a 33-yard field goal and Mills had capped a crisp 80-yard first-quarter drive with a one-yard scramble to get the Lions up 10-0 and after Bollinger's rollout was countered with Gould's 42-yarder, Penn State had forced another fruitless Wisconsin possession and Mills had driven his team to the Wisconsin 37.

But after a huge all-out rush forced a hurried off-balance throw, B.J. Tucker intercepted Mills' underthrown pass and zigged and zagged through the dazed Lions for a 65-yard touchdown return and Scott Campbell's conversion put the Badgers up 14-13 with 4:33 left in the half despite being totally outplayed.

Despite suffering a mild shoulder sprain on the game's second series, Mills' response was typical of this whole Penn State day. He conducted a 74-yard clock-beating drive and what Penn State game would be complete without a Johnson sighting? Particularly this one, where the Lions sported three in its lineup and the Badgers two.

But Larry Johnson (14 carries, 111 yards) slashed through an overpursuing Wisconsin defense 24 yards for a touchdown and the Lions' stout defense made sure they took the 21-14 lead into the locker room.

"We absolutely had to come out and play well," Mills said. Which they did. Particularly in a third quarter where the defense stuffed Wisconsin's first series and Bryant Johnson's cutback punt return set the Lions up on their 44. Larry Johnson's 43-yard sprint to the Badgers 13 was the key, but Mills' patience against 'Sconsin's shifting defense did the rest. When plowhorse Sean McHugh foiled the Badgers' goal line defense on third down it was 28-14.

Unfortunately for the Lions (4-1 overall 1-1 Big Ten), Johnson suffered a left hamstring pull that shelved him for the rest of the day.

But two-touchdown Penn State leads, in this Big Ten era, are not always what they seem, a point Paterno made sure wasn't lost on Mills, who played through the painful shoulder ligament injury, a classic "playing hurt" effort.

"That's what Joe brought up in the fourth quarter," Mills said. "You play like you're behind."

The Lions had done that brilliantly against unbeaten Iowa the week before, despite the overtime loss, overcoming a 35-13 deficit. But after the smartly-executed opening drive, the Lions could only manage two Gould field goals, although the eclectic kicker's efforts earned him a game ball, more about which straight ahead.

U.W. (5-1, 1-1, No. 19 coaches, No. 22 A.P.) pulled within 28-20 on Bollinger's 7-yard pass to Brandon Williams deep in the end zone, but a personal foul cost the Badgers 15 yards and Scott Campbell missed the extra point from 36 yards out.

But then Wisconsin added a 48-yard Campbell bomb to pull within 28-23 and a re-energized crowd and Badger defense seemed primed to complete the turnaround.

Which is where Mills -- and Gould -- reenter the picture.

"With the adrenaline, you really don't feel it that much," Mills said, although the sideline camera caught him wincing more than once.

"(Mills) knew exactly what to do," 'Sconsin's gritty defensive end, Erasmus James said. "If he had to run, he ran the ball, if he had to pass, throw it away." Despite the no-sack official stat, the Badgers came after Mills repeatedly and despite the relatively high score, the game morphed into a grim defensive struggle for several minutes.

Still, Mills' leadership paid off in a mid-fourth quarter drive that took State to the Badgers' 34 as Larry Johnson's replacement, Mike Gasparato, performed admirably, especially in surprising the Wisconsin secondary with a perfect slant pattern that produced a 25-yard gain.

However the 'Sconsin pass rush picked up, forcing two Mills incompletions and the field goal/punt option consumed the Lions sideline.

"Yeah, there was a little debate," Paterno conceded. "He'd never kicked one that far (50 was Gould's previous best). But Herb Menhardt kicked one (in 1979) at North Carolina State ... I told him to go ahead and we won on the last play (9-7)."

Gould had long since shaken off the key blocked extra point from last week that had been returned for a decisive two points that had allowed Iowa to escape regulation time in a 35-35 tie.

"The coaches have confidence in me to do my job," said Gould, who gave the game ball to his dad, Robert, a former Lock Haven (Pa.) State soccer standout. "I just told (Fran Ganter, offensive coordinator) what I thought."

The 51-yarder sailed through with assertive room to spare. And Gould added a 40-yarder one possession later that enabled the Lions to withstand Wisconsin's final desperate push, Bollinger's 28-yard T.D. pass to Orr and Dwayne Smith's cutback two-point conversion run.

Which brings us back to the always-outspoken, refreshing Kennedy, who drew the largest media crowd of the post-game session. "Am I happy? Yeah. I just don't show my emotions. I don't think I ever showed my emotions in a game."

Despite his, um, philosophical differences at times with Paterno, he has begun to establish himself as a classic typical Paterno-type player.

And as a result, the Lions look ready to reestablish themselves among the Big Ten elite. Saturday's game at Michigan, which like Wisconsin has had more than its share of success against Penn State, could be a major statement game for the Lions.