The voluminous cheers pleading for Ki-Jana Carter to stay "One More Year" carried through the Rose Bowl after the Nittany Lions' 38-20 victory over Oregon.

Carter stood on a platform with ABC's Lynn Swann and awaited the awarding of co-player of the game honors. The redshirt junior tailback has one season of eligibility remaining, and the Penn State fans attending the 81st Rose Bowl were the first to inquire about whether Carter would return.

But they weren't the last.

"I don't know yet. I'm going to sit down with my mom and Coach Paterno," Carter said. "I guess I'm going to see what's the best thing for me. I think the main thing is how high I'll go (in the National Football League draft). In June, I'll be able to graduate, no matter what."

Carter is slated for a press conference at 11 a.m. today.

The allure of millions of dollars and the prestige of becoming a top-five draft choice by some NFL team may await Carter. And he did nothing but reassure his status as college football's premier running back.

Carter gained 156 yards on 21 carries and scored a Rose Bowl record-tying three touchdowns, including an 83-yarder on the Lions' first play from scrimmage.

That run saw the 5-foot-10, 221-pound Carter break from the Lions' 17-yard line, hold up briefly in traffic before shedding Ducks cornerback Herman O'Berry and bolting untouched for a 7-0 lead with 4 minutes, 10 seconds elapsed in the first quarter.

"I was just trying to gain some ground," Carter said.

"We beat Southern Cal so bad there was a notion that the Pac-10 wasn't so tough," tight end Kyle Brady said. "Ki-Jana goes and runs 83 yards on the first play and you start believing it."

But it was Carter's second score, a 17-yard run off the left side, that may have answered the "Going Pro?" question.

Carter pulled up in the end zone and showed off a duck strut, jerking his shoulders and legs in celebratory fashion. For the first time in his career, he didn't hand the ball to the man in stripes.

"I've never celebrated before when I scored a touchdown," Carter said. "It just happened. I hope it wasn't too much, I was just excited, seeing nothing but green like the first touchdown."

Welcome to the NFL?

"He's extremely hard to tackle," said Oregon Coach Rich Brooks, impressed with Carter coming into the game and convinced even more afterward.

"I want him to graduate," said Kathy Carter, his mother. "Get that diploma so I can hang it on the wall."

A banner season saw the Lions lead the nation in scoring offense and total offense behind Carter's 1,539 yards and complete an undefeated season in the Big Ten conference. Carter was a consensus All-American, but as postseason awards were handed out, he went home empty-handed.

Colorado's Rashaan Salaam won the Doak Walker and Heisman Trophy awards, with Carter finishing second for both. Carter was a finalist for the Maxwell Award as the nation's outstanding player, but that was presented to teammate Kerry Collins.

The disappointment began to wear on Carter.

When No. 1 Nebraska was crowned the 1994 national champion after defeating Miami 24-17 in the Orange Bowl on the eve before the Rose Bowl, the weariness set in.

The Lions had lost the No. 1 ranking in early November. The Associated Press dropped them to second, despite a 63-14 lashing of Ohio State on Oct. 29. They slipped in the USA Today/CNN Coaches' poll after a 35-29 victory at Indiana.

Now Nebraska was being proclaimed national champion and Penn State hadn't even played yet.

"I think the least they can do is split it up. Give us one, give them one, because we worked too hard to get where we're at, and they did too," Carter said. "Even though (voters) feel sorry for Tom Osborne, I haven't got a national championship and neither have the rest of my teammates. They need to look at that, too."