UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Leave it to Joe Paterno, the coach whose tenure has been the source of speculation and the butt of a thousand jokes this fall, to come up with the understatement of the day.

"It doesn't feel bad," Paterno said with a wry smile shortly after Penn State rolled over Indiana, 52-7, yesterday at Beaver Stadium to end a nearly unprecedented six-game losing streak.

After spotting the Hoosiers (2-8, 1-6 in the Big Ten) a 7-0 lead, Penn State looked like a team from another era, piling up a 21-7 lead by halftime before cracking things open with 31 third-quarter points.

"I'm still in shock," said redshirt sophomore Michael Robinson, whose "Slash" role keeps expanding. He started at tailback, rushing for 85 yards and a touchdown. He also was 2-of-3 passing for 87 yards and a touchdown.

Robinson's performance was just one of many that stood out on a day when the Nittany Lions (3-8, 1-6) got points from their offense, defense and special teams and climbed out of the conference cellar.

"This being senior day and guys coming out and playing full speed and the big team effort, it impacted all of us," said senior receiver Tony Johnson, who blocked out earlier trouble with dropped passes and a suspension after a drunken-driving arrest.

His three receptions all were touchdowns, totaling 47 yards.

Penn State had not won since a 32-10 game Sept. 20 against Kent State . The Nittany Lions' longest losing streak since 1931, when they lost seven games in a row. And, no, Joe Paterno was not the head coach or on the staff then.

With just one game left this year -- Saturday at Michigan State -- Penn State's blowout win came too late to turn the season around. The Nittany Lions will not play in a bowl game for the third time in the past four seasons and need to beat the Spartans in their season finale to avoid losing nine games for the first time in school history.

The 52 points against Indiana were more than Penn State had scored in its previous three games combined, and that left the Nittany Lions feeling pretty good.

"We haven't piled on this many points in a while and we hadn't won in a while," Robinson said. "Me and some of the guys were talking on the sideline. We were like, 'Man, we don't even know how to act.' We're used to coming off the field and going, 'Ah, man, we could have won,' so we didn't know how to act."

The mood on Penn State's sideline likely was different and eerily familiar early . The Hoosiers opened the game by driving 80 yards on 13 plays and taking a 7-0 lead on Matt LoVecchio's 12-yard touchdown pass to Glenn Johnson.

"That really scared me," Paterno said. "I had thought we were ready to play. We had practiced as well as we had all year. I didn't realize their quarterback is quicker than I thought. So it made me nervous."

Tailback BenJarvus Green-Ellis carried the ball eight times for 45 yards on the drive. He was on his way to 203 yards rushing on 42 attempts -- accounting for well more than half of Indiana's 379 yards of offense -- but carrying the workload didn't translate into bringing home a win. Indiana didn't sniff the end zone again.

The Hoosiers entered the game with the worst defense in the Big Ten, giving up 432 yards a game, and Penn State quickly took advantage.

On the Nittany Lions' second play, quarterback Zack Mills hit redshirt freshman receiver Maurice Humphrey for a 41-yard completion, and, three plays later, Mills found Johnson on the left side of the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown to tie the score, 7-7, with 7:38 left in the first quarter.

Penn State took the lead for good, 14-7, on Mills' 5-yard touchdown pass to Johnson over the middle with 1:48 left in the first quarter.

"Our receivers did a good job of getting open," said Mills, who was 12-of-19 passing for 173 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions.

The only score of the second quarter was Mills' nicely placed 33-yard pass to Humphrey at the goal line over the outstretched arms of cornerback Duane Stone after the Hoosiers bit on a play-fake from Mills to Robinson.

"That's something we saw in them that we could use," Mills said of the play-action.

Penn State scored every which way in the third quarter.

Robbie Gould kicked a 37-yard field goal. Yaacov Yisrael blocked a punt by Indiana's Tyson Beattie, coming clean and nearly engulfing the ball in his chest, and fellow safety Andrew Guman snagged the ball and returned it 7 yards for a touchdown.

Robinson swept around left end untouched on a 10-yard touchdown run to make it 38-7 with 3:32 left in the third quarter, and that left plenty of time for two more scores.

Robinson, taking a turn at quarterback, found Johnson alone and backpedaling near the left pylon for an easy, 30-yard touchdown pass play. Linebacker Paul Posluszny, a freshman from Hopewell High School, returned an interception 15 yards for another touchdown and a 52-7 lead through three quarters.

"I was just happy to get a win, have some success," Mills said. "It was a lot better than the past several weeks. We just have to take this win for what it is and go out and win another game."