MIAMI -- OK, so all didn't turn out as anticipated in the inaugural $3 dollars-for-three-nights-to-rent-a-Blockbuster Video Bowl.

Florida State coach Bobby Bowden didn't unleash any of his surprise-when-you-least-expect-it trick plays, such as a fumblerooskie here or a puntrooskie there.

Just one reverse the whole game. How disappointing.

Penn State wasn't able to establish any type of running game or continuity with its offense, but still could have -- perhaps should have -- won the game.

The Seminoles' mascot, Chief Osceola and his trusted horse, Renegade, were only supposed to throw that flaming spear into the ground once -- before the opening kickoff.

And most halftime bowl extravaganzas are intended to be entertaining. That rule must have been made without the consent of comedian Fred Travalena and the over-exposed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

But what did hold true was that No. 6 Florida State defeated No. 7 Penn State, 24-17, on Dec. 28 at Joe Robbie Stadium. The Seminoles finished the season ranked No. 4 in the final poll while the Lions were 11th.

So with Paterno yelling at a horse for making one too many appearances, and Bowden's usually high-octane offense on empty for most of the final three quarters, the game came down to a showdown between the Lions' offense and the Seminoles' defense.

Going into this power matchup, wasn't it supposed to be the other way around?

"We knew going in we had a great defense," FSU right cornerback Terrell Buckley said. "We were just not getting the national recognition we deserved, simply because of our offense. We did the same thing against Penn State we've been doing the whole year. It was nothing different."

For the Lions, their whole nine-game win streak and shebang came down once again to their veteran quarterback, Tom Bill. Just as he did against Alabama and West Virginia, Bill's insertion into the lineup for an ineffective Tony Sacca awoke a struggling and sluggish Penn State offense.

Bill's 37-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Terry Smith with 6:27 remaining cut the lead to 24-17, and tenacious PSU pressure forced Florida State QB Casey Weldon to overthrow Richie Andrews on a 3rd-and-13 call deep in its territory, giving the ball back to the Lions.

As he left the field, Weldon shrugged his shoulders as if to say "Oh well." On the other side, the play left Paterno clenching his fist as his team was now in excellent field position -- on FSU's 31-yard line.

But there the drive ended. An overthrown pass to tight end Al Golden, a dropped pass to Smith over the middle when he had miles of open field in front of him, a strange call of Bill running for just two yards -- on third down. It came down to a 4th-and-8 play that had Seminoles' offensive tackle Kevin Mancini standing on the bench waving his towel, trying to incite the crowd.

He didn't have to work very hard.

Yet as it had all game, the blitzkrieg of Florida State's pass rush pressured Bill into heaving the ball in the direction of the end zone, only to have Seminoles' free safety John Davis intercept the ball, instead of the intended receiver, tailback Leroy Thompson.

"When we were in the huddle, we said, 'If it's your man, make a play,' and John Davis made the play. He's the man," Buckley said.

All of a sudden each of the Seminole fans' arms, tired from exercising their tomahawk, Scalp'em cheer almost every minute of the game, began to pump just a little harder as Big Sam, the victory drum beat a lot louder.

But after the official ruled Davis down at the 1-yard line, it was possible that Penn State would have yet another chance to score. But that's when Weldon, who lost his starting quarterback job in the spring due to what Bowden said was a case of Weldon not doing his "homework," connected on an only-slightly-important 3rd-and-3 play with 2:25 remaining.

Using what the Seminoles call the "seven waggle" play, Weldon hit fullback Edgar Bennett for a quick pass coming out of the backfield that just barely crossed the marker for that much-needed first down.

"I really didn't want to go down," Bennett said. "I felt like if I didn't go down, I'd have it so I was fighting for extra yards."

The rest of the game was a case of what-could-have-been for both squads:

-- The Lions inability to score when inposition.

Twice in the second quarter Penn State failed to capitalize on chances deep in Florida State territory. Craig Fayak had a 22-yard field goal blocked and Sacca, after hitting wide reciever David Daniels for 26 yards over the middle to set up another possible score, threw an interception at FSU's 26.

"That's probably where the game was won," Bowden said. "They came out of there with nothing when they were in touchdown range and didn't even get a field goal. I have to give big credit to our defense."

-- The "ineffectiveness" of Florida State running back Amp Lee. Or at least as he saw it.

Lee finished with a game-high 86 yards on 21 carries, two short rushing touchdowns and five receptions for 32 yards, good enough for the game's MVP award.

"I didn't even know they gave an award," he said afterward. "But it wasn't even my best game. I was disappointed."

-- Penn State's special teams botches, which hurt the team throughout.

With Florida State holding a 3-0 lead in the first quarter, courtesy of a pass interference penalty, punter Doug Helkowski punted to Buckley, a second team All-America choice and No. 6 in the country in punt returns, who backtracked almost 20 yards and eluded a couple of tackles before heading up the sidelines in front of a stunned Penn State bench.

Add to that Fayak's blocked field and Helkowski's six-punt 36-yard average and the special team' were hardly that.

-- An unexplained sudden lack of FSU's offense in the second half.

On its first four possessions, the team scored three times, using an effective combination of throwing over the middle and the quickness in the backfield.

But after that, Weldon's offense went to the beach until late in the third quarter when Weldon hit flanker Lawrence Dawsey for 22 on a key third-down call. After another long pass and three plays, Weldon scored from two yards out to finish the FSU scoring.

"Well, we got a little conservative and tried to run the clock down a little too much, but we came through when we had to," Weldon said.

"I should have probably opened up in the third quarter when we had a 10-point lead," Bowden echoed. "I felt the way the defense was playing we might be able to hold them, (but) I let it linger enough that they nearly pulled the game out."