There was the pass which shouldn't have been thrown and the kick which should've went through the uprights and with that, the Miami Hurricanes' bus rolled out of Beaver Stadium with the Lion's hope and spirits tucked neatly in its luggage rack.

And with a cloud of dust which never did disappear, the 'Canes disappeared.

But the memory never did go away. It remained, a virus, which eventually deteriorated a national championship contender into a passive pretender.

With one gust, the Hurricane's ravaged that house of Nittany cards into a scattered mess on the floor.

Going into the game, Penn State was 5-O. Miami was the first real test, the first chance to go toe-to-toe with a legitimate legion. The Lions just never saw it coming, that blindside which leveled them and their season.

Ominously, Penn State's in 1993 stands at an equivalent 5-0. For the most part, an again untested 5-0. Into Beaver Stadium today come the Wolverines.

The first real test. It is almost too easy to draw the comparisons, to hypothesize another downward spiral should the Lions's lose.

"We won't have to worry about that," defensive tackle Lou Benfatti quickly interjects.

Not this year. Working in the offseason like a mad scientist, Joe Paterno has mastered chemistry. He seems to have found the formula, perhaps a year late, but just in time.

There is an unparalleled senior leadership this season. Last season, all the leadership went south with Miami. Just disappeared. Some seniors had other things on their minds, like looking good for the draft. Guys like Richie Anderson and Rich McKenzie figured the season a wash, simply partitioning a conglomerate into a bunch of severed individuals.

"Our leadership just . . . ," Benfatti began. With his hands and his voice, Benfatti here mimicks an explosion and finishes the sentence, ". . . vanished."

The Lions want no more spontaneous combustions this season, and supporting the school of thought saying there will be no more explosives is the maturity dripping from the Paterno Tech roster. This is a learned group of veterans who know the consequence of placing too much value on one game in a season of many.

"The players can't let everything ride on this one game," Benfatti said. "But at the same time we have to understand what it will take to win."

It is a tricky equation to balance. Last year negativity tipped the scales. Everything revolved around Oct. 10.

"Everyone thought it ruined our season," inside linebacker Lou Benfatti said of the heartbreaking Miami loss.

Michigan, the lesson hard learned from last year states, cannot ruin the season. Nor can it make it successful. Especially not with Ohio State waiting on deck.

The plot thickened Saturday, when the Wolverines were sloppier than a baby eating mashed potatoes. Their second loss of the season downgraded Michigan's status from great team to good but beatable team. A Lion win, beating the beatable, means less, while a loss is intensified.

Working in the favor of Penn State is the off-week providing the Lions with an extra week of preparation for Michigan and allowing intensity to build gradually is a plus of the first week off. Having next week off allows the excess emotion from today to be tempered. Swollen heads will have a chance to deflate or bruised ego's will have time to heal.

The Lions also have a conference this season, a place where they belong. Although a loss most likely would jeopardize any hopes for a national championship, there is still the looming motivation of a trip to a garden in Pasadena to pick some roses.

"We won't have to worry about that," Benfatti said, "because we are going to win."

And half-heartedly he laughs.

If they do win, well, then everything continues full speed ahead. After all, the hoopla is swallowing up this Michigan game at home, but unbeaten Ohio State awaits the Lions in Columbus.

At one time or another, every player and coach has filled some poor scribe's notebook with quotes about taking things one game at a time. About keeping things in perspective. But pertaining to Michigan, that might not be such a bad idea.

"We are taking things one step at a time," Benfatti said.

And that is an encouraging sign.