UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- A year ago, Penn State rolled to a 31-point victory against Michigan State in the regular-season finale at Beaver Stadium.

The 49-18 win clinched a share of the Big Ten Conference championship for the Nittany Lions and earned them the automatic bid to the Rose Bowl.

When Penn State (9-2, 5-2 Big Ten) closes out its season Saturday against the Spartans (6-5, 4-3) in East Lansing, Mich., another Bowl Championship Series berth could be at stake for the Lions.

With a victory at Spartan Stadium, Penn State could earn an at-large invitation to the Orange Bowl if it finishes among the top 14 teams in the BCS standings.

If the Lions, No. 14 in the BCS rankings released yesterday, get squeezed out of the Orange Bowl in Miami, they likely will land in one of the other Florida destinations -- the Capital One Bowl in Orlando or the Outback Bowl in Tampa -- on New Year's Day.

"The Michigan State game is definitely a big game for us," wide receiver Graham Zug said. "It's our last game in the Big Ten, our last game before the bowl game. For us to go to a big-time bowl game, we have to win it."

Penn State, No. 13 in The Associated Press poll and No. 12 in the USA Today coaches' poll, has never had an easy time in East Lansing. The Lions are 4-8 there despite leading the all-time series (13-12-1) that began in 1914.

"It's a tough place to play," defensive coordinator Tom Bradley said. "It's a great venue up there. It's always been a real physical game, an emotional game.

"It's a big game for them -- it's their senior game, too, so they'll be wound up. We beat them last year and I'm sure they want to get back at us."

Penn State is 7-1 on the road the past two seasons, including 3-0 this year.

In 2007, the Lions blew a 17-point second-half lead and lost to Michigan State, 35-31, at Spartan Stadium. That loss capped an 8-4 regular season and sent Penn State to the Alamo Bowl.

"We have a tough time every time we go there," outside linebacker Sean Lee said. "Two years ago, we had them beat and they fought back and beat us.

"It was a really extremely tough game, a game that we were really demoralized."

Penn State is coming off a 31-20 victory Saturday against Indiana. The Lions scored 31 of the final 41 points after struggling in the first half, with the offense and the special teams committing four turnovers.

Quarterback Daryll Clark threw two first-quarter interceptions. His 194 passing yards were his fourth-lowest total this season.

He will have to be much sharper against Michigan State, which rallied from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit Saturday to beat Purdue, 40-37, to become bowl eligible for the third consecutive year.

Clark threw for a then career-high 341 yards and four touchdowns in last year's easy win against the Spartans.

"We obviously cannot come out on the road, I can't do it, like we did [Saturday]," Clark said. "Cannot happen. Or we'll really get thumped."

NOTES -- Everyone expects redshirt junior Navorro Bowman to bypass his senior year of eligibility to enter April's NFL draft. Scouts Inc. rates Bowman as the No. 1 outside linebacker in the country and the 13th-best player overall. "I look at myself as one of the best," Bowman said. "I want to be in the first round. I'll submit my name [to the NFL draft advisory board] and hopefully it'll come back in the first round." ... Tailback Evan Royster, another redshirt junior who is ranked the 50th-best player by Scouts Inc., also could be leaving. "There's a chance," Royster said, "but it's something I'm going to have to weigh at the end of the season. I'll file the papers with the NFL and see where they think I'll go."

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