Blue White Illustrated

Michigan had lost to Colorado the pre- vious Saturday on a Hail Mary touchdown pass on the last play of the game, taking some of the luster o; of Penn State's visit. Still, both were ranked in the top 5, and the winner would have the inside track for the Big Ten title and Rose Bowl. Once again, a national television audience saw the Lions jump out to an early second- quarter lead, 16-0, only to watch the Wolverines take a 17-16 lead in the third quarter. "This was our :rst big test," Collins re- membered. "We were going to get a sense of where we were at and what kind of football team we were going to have, be- cause, really, to that point, we hadn't been tested. So we knew what was on the line. There was a lot of hype, and the country was still undecided about what kind of team we had. Michigan was such a good team, and it was a tough place to play." With the score tied, 24-24, and 4:45 le< in the game, Penn State took possession at its own 45-yard line. On the :rst play, Bobby Engram leaped for a pass from Collins for a :rst down at the Michigan 41. Carter raced up the middle to the Wolverines' 15, but two plays lost a yard. Then, with running back Mike Archie drawing attention from the Michigan sec- ondary, Engram dashed into the end zone almost alone and grabbed Collins' pass for what would be the winning touchdown. An interception near mid:eld by Brian Miller sealed Penn State's 31-24 victory. "I remember Bobby's catch in the back corner, on our sideline, like it was yes- terday," Richardson said. "That last pass to Bobby at the end is the one that stands out, but there were so many times we had to answer to their score," Collins said. "We knew we had to keep rolling or it was going to be a long day for us. A lot of momentum switched back and forth, but we never relented." That same day, Auburn upset No. 1 Flori- da, and on Monday, Penn State leaped from No. 4 to the top of both polls, with Colorado rated No. 2 by the AP and Ne- braska No. 2 by USAToday/CNN. The Lions remained No. 1 through their second bye week, but the pollsters' short love a;air with the 1994 team began to end a week later despite Penn State's 63-14 thrashing of its second prime Big Ten rival, Ohio State. The AP dropped Penn State to No. 2, six points behind Nebraska, a

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