MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- As they launched one orange after another into the crowd of photographers, reporters and hangers-on, the players on Penn State's magical 2005 football team finally had time to reflect.

All season the teammates had refused to look at the big picture until the final scene had been painted, but now it had. Though they never got a chance to grab the roses they desperately sought, judging by the juice running down Scott Paxson's smiling face, the oranges were still pretty sweet.

Penn State (11-1) earned the big bowl of fruit and a final No. 3 ranking in the national polls by outlasting Florida State (8-5) in an epic, 26-23 triple-overtime battle in the FedEx Orange Bowl. But, like nearly everything that has taken place this season, the team did it in a most improbable fashion.

This fall, the Penn State football team has relied on its three captains -- the fiery Alan Zemaitis, the tough-as-nails Michael Robinson and the stolid Paul Posluszny -- to step up in the clutch. But on the night of Jan. 3, it was lesser-known Nittany Lions that put an exclamation point on the most memorable season in recent Penn State history.

When the Lions captains met the Florida State captains at midfield before overtime began, the normal triumvirate had been reduced to two, as Posluszny had been knocked from the game by a fourth-quarter knee injury. Tony Hunt, Penn State's leading rusher, and fullback BranDon Snow were out, too, with ankle and lower leg injuries, respectively.

Hunt was replaced by a suddenly resurgent Austin Scott, who kept the Lions in the game while Robinson struggled in the first half by running for 105 yards on 14 carries.

Even with the injuries, Penn State managed to overcome the odds one more time and solidify its position as one of the best football teams in the country.

"It's a tribute to the character that we have and where we have come from," said wideout Ethan Kilmer, who had six catches for 79 yards and a touchdown. "We came from nowhere, from being down, and we know that if we just keep fighting, it's going to work out for us."

The game was nothing less than a battle, dominated by two aggressive, hard-hitting defenses. But after the big-play fireworks put on by the Seminoles on a Lorenzo Booker reception and a punt return by escape artist Willie Reed, Penn State's offense was forced to launch an improbable drive to close the half.

Kilmer used nearly every part of his body to make a tumbling catch in which he leaped over a Seminoles defender and put Penn State ahead, 14-13.

The Seminoles went three-and-out on all three of their fourth-quarter possessions, and the two teams combined for 20 punts that totaled 840 yards.

It's not surprising that a defensive battle like this one was decided on special teams, but the way in which the teams limped home behind their struggling kickers will cement this game in college football lore.

After a safety gave Penn State a 16-13 lead, the Lions drove downfield, but Robinson lost the ball on a fumbled snap from center E.Z. Smith. Florida State then put together its first successful drive of the second half, ending in a 48-yard field goal to tie the game.

Robinson had taken a brutal pounding all evening, but mustered his strength to set up a potential game-winning chip shot for kicker Kevin Kelly. Kelly missed the kick, the first of four missed field goals in the game, and the Orange Bowl went to overtime.

In the extra frames, Florida State took the ball first, and, after a costly 10-yard holding penalty, Seminoles kicker Gary Cismesia missed a field goal of his own. Penn State then ran up the middle three straight times, setting up Kelly for another potential game-winning kick, which he again missed.

On their next possessions, the teams traded touchdowns, and, before Kelly came out to kick the extra point, Robinson helped to calm Kelly's nerves.

"Everybody was telling me, 'Just relax and stay focused. Don't worry about the first one, don't worry about the second one, you'll get the third one eventually,' " Kelly said. "It was just a matter of me getting my chance again."

It wasn't until the third overtime, when Cismesia missed yet another kick, that the freshman kicker finally put the game in the history books.

Kelly pounded home his third attempt, allowing Penn State to topple a very dangerous Florida State team.

"I feel better about this win than if we blew them out," Robinson said.

The game was in doubt until Kelly's final attempt hooked just through the left upright, but, as they had all year, Penn State's players said they knew they were going to win. They had to.

"I just had some kind of faith that we would win. We wanted it more than they did," defensive end Tamba Hali said. "I didn't think they were gonna win; I never thought that. I wanted it to be a classic, and that's how it ended up."