With scores of hometown friends and family members in attendance, Chad Henne did not disappoint.

Well, at least his play didn't disappoint the small minority in the raucous Penn State crowd that was rooting for him Saturday night.

In his first appearance at Beaver Stadium since opting to play quarterback for Michigan instead of Penn State, Chad Henne knew what was in store, and hardly expected to be hailed as a conquering hero, as the Wolverines' fight song, "The Victors," suggests.

The hostile environment and less-than-welcoming Penn State defense did hinder Henne's play at times, but the third-year starter did enough to get the job done.

Henne completed 15-of-30 passes, racking up 196 yards and a touchdown. More importantly, he and the Wolverines returned to Ann Arbor with their perfect season intact.

At no point was Henne's poise and talent on display more than on Michigan's first scoring drive.

With 11:13 to play in the second quarter, Henne recognized Penn State was in a cover-3 defense for a third-and-10 play. Loaded with confidence from six wins and a consistent drive downfield, he dropped back and fired to receiver Adrian Arrington, splitting the ball in between cornerback A.J. Wallace and safety Donnie Johnson before the two Nittany Lions could properly react. Arrington snatched the pass and jogged into the end zone, breaking the scoreless tie.

The read was perfect and the pass was superb. Henne, the same quarterback who won the game for Michigan on the last play of the game a year ago, had bested Penn State again.

"It was a great pass by Chad," Arrington said. "He just put it right there where only I could get it. It was cover-3, so I just kind of stuck to the outside to get the corner to jump out a little bit and just hit the seam and he put it right on the money."

Even when he wasn't putting the ball on the money Saturday, Henne threw to spots where either his receiver would grab the ball, or no one would. For the season, Henne now has 14 touchdown passes to just four interceptions.

"Chad Henne is one of the best quarterbacks in the nation," said Penn State hero-back Anthony Scirrotto. When you're working with that kind of talent in your wide receiver core, it's a much easier job for him. He did well at handling our pressure and he made plays when he had to."

Michigan's offensive line also made Henne's homecoming a bit easier, protecting the junior quarterback for much of the night, giving him time to locate the open receiver and throw.

"The one thing that we did an outstanding job of was, we protected Henne," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "He made some outstanding plays, and that is really what enabled us to score some points."

While the Wolverines blocked Penn State's defensive front, they could not block out the crowd's barbs directed at Henne.

The Wyomissing native was called "names that were not politically correct," and observed fans in the tunnel outside Michigan's locker room before the game, waiting for him to come out so they could boo him.

In the summer of 2003, Henne announced his decision to attend Michigan instead of Penn State -- the school that most, including the Lions' coaches, thought he would attend.

The week leading up to the game was full of talk about Henne's decision.

"I told him that when it was all said and done, that was not going to be what people remember or what you remember," Lloyd Carr said. "What you are going to remember is what kind of job did you do when you went in there. Did you take your team and get them in the end zone? Did you find a way to help your team win this game?

"That is what is going to be remembered. He is a tough-minded guy."