Just as after Miami had rallied back to put the Nittany Lions on the brink, Penn State found a way to stay in the national championship race. The Lions answered with a 79-yard touchdown pass of their own, with Chafie Fields taking it all the way with 1:41 left for the game-winning touchdown in the rain-drenched Orange Bowl.

The Hurricanes had roared back from a 17-3 deficit, taking a 23-20 lead on James Jackson's 39-yard TD run with 7:42 left in the game. And when Miami's Edward Reed intercepted a pass by Rashard Casey, who alternated at quarterback with Thompson, it looked like the Hurricanes (2-1) would claim their biggest victory in coach Butch Davis' five years.

But Penn State (4-0) stopped Miami on fourth-and-2 at the Lions 21, and Fields wasted little time, catching a bomb to go with the 49-yard touchdown pass he'd caught in the first half. The Nittany Lions intercepted four passes and forced a fumble from Miami quarterback Kenny Kelly.

The Orangemen (2-1) appear ready to steal a victory away from Michigan (3-0), driving the length of the field in the final three minutes. Syracuse made it to the Michigan 9, but Madei Williams' fourth-and-4 pass was beyond the reach of diving Pat Woodcock -- which the Orangemen thought should have been called pass interference -- and Michigan took over on downs and ran out the clock.

>Jeff Del Verne's 31-yard field goal with 3:42 to play gave Michigan a five-point advantage and put Syracuse in a touchdown-or-nothing situation. The triumph avenged last year's stinging 38-28 loss to the Orangemen at Ann Arbor.