There was an unmistakable irony to this moment.

Penn State, with a record-crowd of 96,719 looking on, was poised an arm's length from the goal line, with four downs to push through six inches of Michigan maize and blue. So much at stake.

And with a sudden jolt -- with four plays and a cloud of dust -- the 1,000th game in Penn State history became a gruesome flashback to one of the Lions' most frustrating defeats.

There were members of that 1978 almost-national champion looking on. The team that came within one Alabama linebacker of reaching No. 1. The team that branded Coach Joe Paterno as an up-the-gut, conservative coach.

Replace the names and the faces -- Chuck Fusina with Kerry Collins, Matt Suhey with Ki-Jana Carter -- and the situation grows awfully familiar. A great Penn State team can't pick up one measly yard, and No. 1 becomes a pipe dream.

"They (Michigan) are awfully good on the goal line. They've always been good," said Paterno of Penn State's goal-line play-calling late in the third and early in the fourth quarter. "They've got a clever little scheme where they'll pinch and loop out. You've got to guess a little bit. It was my decision, my call. I thought they were going to go out."

So Penn State (5-1), trailing 14-10 at the time, went inside. Kerry Collins dove over center. No gain.

Then the 6-foot-5, 235-pound quarterback tried again, sneaking underneath amidst a pile of blue and white and yellow. No gain.

So the Lions gave the ball to Ki-Jana Carter, who attempted to leap over the top. No gain.

Fourth down. The action moved to the students' end of the stadium. Something different, maybe?

Nope. Carter was stuffed leaping over the top, and as he slid to the turf, so did Penn State's national title hopes.

And that sloppy series was symbolic of the Lions' day. A day filled with blunders, with uncharacteristic mistakes.

"Not to take anything away from Michigan, but the only team that can really beat us is us. We beat ourselves," linebacker Eric Ravotti said.

Two illegal procedure penalties on Penn State's first two drives ruined prime touchdown opportunities. Place kicker Craig Fayak missed a 25-yard field goal, but nailed a 40-yarder. Three points instead of 14.

Still, the Wolverines (4-2) were on the verge of being buried in the second quarter -- especially after a 37-yard spiral from Kerry Collins to Bobby Engram put the Lions up 10-0.

But wide receiver Derrick Alexander singlehandedly dug his team out of a hole. V.J. Muscillo, punting from his own end zone, sent a low kick to Alexander at the Penn State 48. The senior promptly rocketed untouched past 11 Penn State jerseys and into the end zone. Even the pregame skydiver took more of a hit.

Consider the momentum swung.

Early in the third quarter, the Lions stuffed Michigan's first second-half drive. Struggling Wolverine placekicker Peter Elezovic shanked a 41-yard field goal attempt. Mistake: Shelly Hammonds was offsides, giving the Wolverines a first down and eventually a touchdown.

"A couple of times, maybe we thought we could have put them away and we didn't," Paterno said. "We made too many mistakes."

Including the final nail in the coffin. Penn State was down, 14-13, and Michigan had the ball with 8 minutes, 51 seconds to play. Tyrone Wheatley broke to the right side, followed a wave of blockers and almost scored, but Penn State safety Lee Rubin refused to let go of the massive back's jersey, dragging him down at the six. Mistake: Letting Wheatley break free from the line all day, allowing the Heisman Trophy candidate to rush for 192 yards on 32 carries.

Three plays later, Todd Collins found a wide open Ch Foster a few feet from the end zone. He waltzed in, and Michigan danced out of Happy Valley still a major player in the Rose Bowl race.

The Lions gave it one last gasp, but Kerry Collins was picked off by defensive back Shonte Peoples at the Michigan 25. The final mistake.

"The difference in our team today -- the old rubber band, or however you want to print it," Michigan Coach Gary Moeller expounded, "is we gave a lot but we didn't completely break. And that's what we weren't doing early in the year."

Instead, it was Penn State that broke.