ORLANDO, Fla. -- When Kerry Collins heard the call for a counter draw to Tennessee's weak side, he did a double take. The usually conservative Coach Joe Paterno surprisingly opted not to sit on the ball and run out the clock before halftime, nor to play it safe and kick a field goal.

"I looked up at the clock and there was only 10 seconds left and I said, 'Are you sure you want to run it?' And he said, 'Yep'," the junior quarterback said afterward.

Only three seconds remained on the clock when Ki-Jana Carter tiptoed into the endzone untouched, giving Penn State a 17-13 halftime edge over the Vols. His touchdown completed a seven-play, 65-yard drive mastered in only one minute and five seconds.

After taking the handoff at Tennessee's 14-yard line, the sophomore tailback burst through a massive hole created on the left side of the field by his lead blocker, tackle Derick Pickett, and downfield receiver Bobby Engram, who wedged a Volunteers defender in the corner of the end zone.

"I probably could have walked in," Carter said, "but I just wanted to make sure."

The touchdown was the turning point in the CompUSA Florida Citrus Bowl, where the 11-point underdog Nittany Lions overwhelmed Tennessee, 31-13. The near-perfectly executed drive was engineered by the gambling of Paterno, the poise of Collins, and the catch-and-go abilities of Engram and fullback Brian O'Neal.

When Tennessee placekicker John Becksvoort kicked the ball out of bounds only moments after nailing a Citrus Bowl-record 50-yard field goal, the Nittany Lions received the ball on their own 35.

Mike Archie then rushed for a 12-yard gain. Collins connected with Engram for 18 yards on a screen pass across the middle of the field for another first down. Carter was stuffed on a two-yard carry before O'Neal rambled for 19 yards on consecutive shovel passes.

Fifteen seconds remained on the clock when Collins tried to hit flanker Chip LaBarca in the right corner of the end zone, but the senior receiver slipped. Then came the call that broke the Vols spirit.

"I think probably most people in the stadium thought they were going to throw the football," Tennessee Coach Phillip Fulmer said. "We did not regain momentum (in the second half) and we continued to shoot ourselves in the foot. Penn State really did a nice job of giving us enough rope to let us hang ourselves with."