Three failed plays later, Kevin Kelly kicked a 25-yard field goal, and Penn State had landed its first jab.
The Lions landed a smart right hook on their next possession, when a Robinson run capped off a touchdown drive highlighted by a 61-yard run by Tony Hunt.
Penn State seemed to land a haymaker when Alan Zemaitis literally ripped the momentum -- and the ball -- from Henne's hands and took it 35 yards, ball held aloft, to the end zone. Then, Kelly, Penn State's 5-foot-7-inch, 175-pound freshman kicker, put his head down and charged through three Michigan defenders and into the end zone for a two-point conversion following a botched snap on the extra-point attempt.
But the Wolverines, though stunned, stood their ground and returned fire.
A beautiful 33-yard touchdown throw from Henne to Manningham and a two-point conversion ran in by Michigan tailback Mike Hart evened the game. And when Garrett Rivas booted a 47-yard field goal to put Michigan back on top 21-18 and Robinson threw an interception on the ensuing possession, the momentum had obviously switched back to the maize and blue.
Robinson got his chance at redemption and made good, willing Penn State to a 13-play, 81-yard touchdown drive with his most dangerous target,
Derrick Williams, on the sidelines, lost for the season with a broken left arm.
Robinson's drive is one that would have had its own chapter in the impressive litany of Penn State history had Henne not done him one better.
The only mistake that Robinson made on that final series was leaving too much time on the clock, one second too many as it turns out, the same one second that Robinson was thinking about when he held one finger aloft with confidence before the game's final play.
One second too many, and Henne made him pay dearly.
The sophomore signal caller started with excellent field position after a 41-yard kickoff return by Steve Breaston and quickly moved the ball downfield into Penn State territory.
After Michigan coach Lloyd Carr petitioned the referees for, and was granted, a few added seconds that had run off after he had called a timeout, Michigan found itself on the Penn State 10-yard line with six seconds remaining.
An incompletion to Breaston could have ended the game, but the pass hit the ground with one second remaining on the game clock.
And that one second will likely haunt Robinson, Zemaitis and his fellow seniors for a long time, no matter what the rest of this season holds for the Lions.
Manningham ran a slant route and, before the secondary could react, Henne had jammed a perfect pass into a boundary of what he later called a cover-four zone between defenders Zemaitis and Calvin Lowry.
For Penn State, it was game over, unblemished season over and national championship hopes most likely over.
For Michigan, it was the big play in the clutch that had been missing all season and a new lease on life in the suddenly wide-open Big Ten.
Paterno did not make his players available to the media, but watching the look of disbelief on the faces of the Lions as they slowly cleared off of a field that has haunted them in the past told the whole story.
"I just wanna get them on the bus, get to the airport and go home, so we can start thinking about next week instead of having them moan about what happened," Paterno said. "You ask them the same questions you ask me. They don't feel like talking."
Who could blame them?
PHOTO: Chad Woolbert
Above: Michael Robinson (12) rushes on the 4th down to keep the Nittany Lions in the game late in the fourth quarter against Michigan on Saturday.
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