EAST LANSING, Mich. — Jehuu Caulcrick's 1-yard touchdown plunge with just more than 4 minutes remaining capped a crazy comeback for Michigan State, which likely sealed a bowl bid with a 35-31 victory over Penn State in yesterday's regular-season finale.

Caulcrick also ran for a first down on a fake punt in Michigan State territory on the same drive to boost the Spartans (7-5, 3-5 Big Ten), who haven't played in a bowl game since 2003.

Penn State (8-4, 4-4) — which lost a 17-point second-half lead — also will be bowl bound for the 34th time under coach Joe Paterno.

Michigan State quarterback Brian Hoyer was 16 of 21 for 257 yards and four TDs, including three to receiver Devin Thomas. Hoyer also threw two interceptions and lost a fumble.

Caulcrick had 99 yards on 22 carries. Thomas caught seven passes for 139 yards.

Rodney Kinlaw rushed for 125 yards and two scores on 28 carries for Penn State. Quarterback Anthony Morelli completed 16 of 35 passes for 188 yards and a touchdown.

Penn State went ahead 24-7 early in the third quarter on a fake field goal, with kicker Kevin Kelly scrambling untouched into the end zone for a 5-yard TD run.

"I felt like we were sitting pretty," safety Anthony Scirrotto said. "We were up by three scores, and we were rolling on offense and on defense."

More than likely, Penn State will earn a bid to the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 29, but there is a chance the Lions could play in the Champs Sports Bowl on Dec. 28.

ATLANTIC COAST

Wake Forest 38, N.C. State 18: Riley Skinner threw two touchdown passes, including a 62-yarder to Jordan Williams, and linebacker Aaron Curry returned a late interception 57 yards for a touchdown, leading the Demon Deacons (7-4, 5-3) past the Wolfpack (5-6, 3-4) at Winston-Salem, N.C.

Georgia Tech 27, North Carolina 25: Travis Bell atoned for an earlier miss by kicking a 27-yard field goal with 15 seconds left, helping the host Yellow Jackets (7-4, 4-4) overcome four lost fumbles to beat the Tar Heels (3-8, 2-5) at Atlanta.

Florida State 24, Maryland 16: Coach Bobby Bowden won his 300th game at Florida State, and 337th overall, getting 133 yards rushing and a touchdown from Preston Parker as the Seminoles (7-4, 4-4) beat the Terrapins (5-6, 2-5) at Tallahassee, Fla.

BIG 12 CONFERENCE

Oklahoma State 45, Baylor 14: Zac Robinson threw for 202 yards and two touchdowns and ran 17 times for 144 yards and two more scores to lead the Cowboys (6-5, 4-3) past the Bears (3-9, 0-8 Big 12) at Waco, Texas.

BIG EAST CONFERENCE

Rutgers 20, Pittsburgh 16: Ray Rice rushed for 112 yards and a touchdown and Devin McCourty intercepted a pass in the end zone with 11 seconds to play to help the Scarlet Knights (7-4, 3-3) turn back the Panthers (4-6, 2-3) at Piscataway, N.J.

South Florida 55, Louisville 17: Mike Ford rushed for 140 yards and two TDs and the Bulls (8-3, 3-3 Big East) forced seven turnovers while holding Brian Brohm to a season-low 194 passing yards in routing the Cardinals (5-6, 2-4) at Tampa, Fla.

BIG TEN CONFERENCE

Indiana 27, Purdue 24: Kellen Lewis ran for two scores, and Austin Starr kicked a 49-yard field goal with 30 seconds left, lifting the Hoosiers (7-5, 3-5 Big Ten) over the Boilermakers (7-5, 3-5) at Bloomington, Ind., to earn their first bowl bid in 14 years.

Western Michigan 28, Iowa 19: Tim Hiller threw for 367 yards and three TDs and the Broncos (4-7) raced out to a 19-0 lead and hung on to upset the Hawkeyes (6-6) at Iowa City, Iowa.

CONFERENCE USA

Houston 35, Marshall 28: Case Keenum passed for two touchdowns and ran for another, and Anthony Alridge scored twice to lead the defending C-USA champion Cougars (7-4, 6-2) over the Thundering Herd (2-9, 2-5) at Houston.

Tulane 45, Rice 31: Matt Forte, the nation's leading rusher with 2,007 yards, ran for 194 yards to eclipse 2,000 for the season, and scored five TDs to lead the Green Wave (4-7, 3-4) past the Owls (3-8, 3-4) in Houston.

Memphis 25, UAB 9: Joseph Doss rushed for 168 yards and a touchdown and Matt Reagan kicked a career-high four field goals, helping the Tigers (6-5, 5-2) become bowl-eligible with a victory over the Blazers (2-9, 1-5) at Memphis, Tenn.

Central Florida 49, SMU 20: Kevin Smith rushed for 177 yards and two touchdowns as the Knights (8-3, 6-1) handed the Mustangs (1-10, 0-7) their ninth straight loss and clinched at least a share of the C-USA East Division title at Dallas.

INDEPENDENTS

Notre Dame 28, Duke 7: The Fighting Irish (2-9) avoided becoming the first Notre Dame team in 74 years to go a season winless at home, beating the Blue Devils (1-10) behind three touchdown passes by Jimmy Clausen at South Bend, Ind.

Navy 35, Northern Illinois 24: Zerbin Singleton scored three touchdowns, backup quarterback Jarod Bryant, playing for injured Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada, ran for 139 yards and a TD to lead the Midshipmen (7-4) over the Huskies (2-9) at Annapolis, Md.

Tulsa 49, Army 39: Paul Smith threw for 390 yards, Tarrion Adams ran for 118 yards and two touchdowns, and the Golden Hurricane (8-3) piled up 622 total yards to defeat the Black Knights (3-8) at West Point, N.Y.

IVY LEAGUE

HARVARD 37, YALE 6: Chris Pizzotti threw three of his career-high four touchdown passes in the first half to lead the Crimson (8-2, 7-0) over the Bulldogs (9-1, 6-1) at New Haven, Conn., for their 12th conference title in the 124th meeting of The Game.

MOUNTAIN WEST

Air Force 55, San Diego State 23: Jim Ollis, Ty Paffett and Chad Hall each eclipsed 100 yards rushing and combined for seven touchdowns, powering the Falcons (9-3, 6-2, Mountain West Conference) over the Aztecs (4-6, 3-3) at Air Force Academy, Colo.

Colorado State 42, Georgia Southern 34: Gartrell Johnson ran for two touchdowns and caught a touchdown pass, and Caleb Hanie completed 13 of 16 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Rams (2-9) over the Mountaineers (7-3) at Fort Collins, Colo.

BYU 35, Wyoming 10: Max Hall passed for 331 yards and three touchdowns, and Harvey Unga rushed for 110 yards and two scores as the Cougars (8-2, 6-0) beat the Cowboys (5-6, 2-5) at Laramie, Wyo., to clinch a share of its fourth Mountain West Conference title.

Utah 28, New Mexico 10: Koa Misi returned a fumble 41 yards for a touchdown and the Utes (8-3, 5-2) capitalized on four turnovers, including two fumbled punt returns, to beat the Lobos (7-4, 4-3) at Salt Lake City.

PACIFIC-10 CONFERENCE

Oregon State 52, Washington State 17: Yvenson Bernard ran for two touchdowns and the Beavers (7-4, 5-3 Pac-10) came up with seven interceptions in a rout of the Cougars (4-7, 2-6) at Pullman, Wash.

SOUTHEASTERN

Arkansas 45, Mississippi State 31: Casey Dick threw a career-high four touchdown passes and Darren McFadden ran for 88 yards and threw for a touchdown, powering the Razorbacks (7-4, 3-4) over the Bulldogs (6-5, 3-4) at Little Rock, Ark.

Louisiana-Monroe 21, Alabama 14: Quintez Secka had two interceptions and the WarHawks (5-6), 24 1/2-point underdogs, forced four turnovers, blocked a field goal, and turned the Crimson Tide (6-5) away three times on promising scoring drives in the fourth quarter at Tuscaloosa, Ala.