ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Michigan's Steve Breaston set up the Wolverines' game winning drive with a 41-yard kickoff return, but Penn State's defense gave way to the Wolverines offense in the final seconds.

"Right now all I am is P.O.'d," Nittany Lions coach Joe Paterno said after the game. "We were in good defense, good position, the whole bit; but, the kid got in front of the guy, which you were hoping he wouldn't be able to do in a goal line [situation]. Maybe we could've been in a little better position for that."

The kid Paterno was referring to was freshman wideout Mario Manningham, a newcomer Wolverine fans have already started to call "Super Mario."

Wolverines quarterback Chad Henne approached the line of scrimmage with one second remaining on the clock. One play was left for his offense to try to get some kind of play into the end zone that was just 10 yards away.

"It was a check play through protection," the sophomore said, referring to the play called in from the Michigan sideline. "They didn't bring any blitzes, so we just stuck with our regular protection. They gave us the coverage we wanted for that play. Mario made a great stick, and I just went off to the throw and put it right there in front of him."

That may sound a little technical, but the play unfolded rather simply.

Henne read Penn State's defense as a cover-four zone. Since the Lions didn't present the appearance of blitzing, Henne didn't have to keep an extra blocker on the line of scrimmage to ensure he had enough time to find an open receiver.

Breaston was the primary target. Lining up in the slot, Breaston broke to the left but was covered.

Behind Breaston, Manningham cut inside to the left, too, but Lions cornerback Alan Zemaitis could only watch as the ball flew into Manningham's wide-open hands.

Just 30 seconds earlier in game time, Michigan called a timeout before setting up a 5-yard pass to tight end Tyler Ecker.

Wolverines coach Lloyd Carr cajoled the referee into putting two more seconds on the game clock, claiming the clock continued to run after his team signaled for the timeout.

Paterno said the Lions used that time just to recuperate slightly.

"Well, the thinking was everyone just suck it up," he said. "Here we go. Who knows what's going to happen?"

What happened will play on repeat on ESPN's SportsCenter about 90 times before classes resume this morning. Meanwhile, the performance of the officials down the stretch is one question that's bound to be a pre-lecture topic of discussion today.

Henne completed a pass to Wolverines wideout Jason Avant on the first play of the drive for 17 yards. Avant made a tremendous catch along the Michigan sideline, but it was unclear if he was able to get at least one of his large feet to touch the grass inside that big bar of white.

From the far sideline it was nearly impossible to tell, and the replay was even less conclusive.

Later that drive on third down with four yards to go and only six seconds left, Henne's pass intended for Breaston fell incomplete. The clock stopped with one second left, but it stopped awfully quickly.

"It was close," Paterno said. "What am I gonna do about it? What do you want me to do? What do you want me to say for cryin' out loud? There's one second left and they made a play and they scored and they won the game. What the hell do you want from me! Jeez. I can't go out there and take the putt, right? It's over. They had one second to go, and they made the play and they beat us. And that's the way it goes."

Earlier in the year it was the Lions who completed a touchdown pass to a freshman receiver with seconds to go to win the game. On Saturday, karma reared its head wearing a maize-colored T-shirt.