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He had just thrown a fourth-quarter interception, resulting in a Penn State touchdown and a 27-17 Nittany Lions lead with 9:44 remaining, and his chin was on his chest.

But the fifth-year senior hung his head for only a moment. When that moment was over, he looked forward again and led the No. 15 Wolverines on two late touchdown drives, giving them a dramatic 31-27 victory over No. 6 Penn State.

"One of our goals this week was to refuse to lose," Brady said. "As long as there was time left on that clock, there was no one giving up."

At so many points this season, nobody could have blamed Brady for giving up.

First, there was coach Lloyd Carr's decision to interchange Brady and sophomore quarterback Drew Henson during the first seven games of the season -- despite Brady's 61-percent completion ratio as a full-time starter last season.

Then, there was the fourth-quarter collapse three weeks ago against Illinois, when Brady's last-gasp pass fell short of his intended receiver in a shocking 35-29 home loss.

And, finally, there was the near loss at Indiana, when Brady played the entire way for the first time this season, stumbled late and then led the Wolverines on a last-minute drive to avoid another embarrassing upset.

But, to his credit, Brady took all that adversity in stride. If he was ever frustrated, he never let on.

"I've said this from the beginning," Carr said. "There's no finer leader in intercollegiate athletics. If you're the quarterback at a place like Michigan, you've got to be a special guy.

"He handled a coaching decision in a way that only has enhanced his stature among his teammates and anybody who is involved in Michigan football. He took it in a positive way. He's a tremendous, tremendous guy."

Perhaps never more tremendous than during crunch time against the Nittany Lions, who lost to the Wolverines for the third consecutive time and likely cost themselves a Rose Bowl berth in the process.

After throwing three interceptions and getting sacked six times, Brady simply dusted himself off and made the swarming Nittany Lions defense pay for picking on him for the first 50 minutes.

"When you play a great defense like that, they're going to force you to make mistakes," Brady said. "But the goal is to come out and win, not to rush for 200 yards or play great defense. I'm just so glad we found a way to win."

On the Wolverines' first scoring drive of the fourth quarter, Brady was 4-of-6, including a 20-yard completion to receiver David Terrell over the middle that moved the ball to the 50-yard line. Brady also scrambled for a 15-yard gain along the way and then put the ball in the end zone with a 5-yard plunge to make it 27-24 Penn State with 3:26 left.

"Whatever it takes, whatever it takes," said Brady, who is not known for his mobility.

Tom Brady reaches to the end zone for a fourth-quarter touchdown. Brady passed for the game-winning TD minutes later.(AP)

After the Nittany Lions failed to make a first down on the ensuing possession, Brady went to work again. Although he missed on his first two passes, he completed his next two -- one to flanker Marcus Knight for 17 yards to the Nittany Lions 18 and the other to Knight in the end zone for the winning score with 1:46 left.

"Tom, he's a warrior," said Terrell, who caught six Brady passes for 133 yards. "The fourth quarter came, he had to make plays, and that's what he did."

And has done for most of the past two seasons.

After leading the Wolverines to a share of the Big Ten title and a Citrus Bowl victory last season, he came into Saturday's game rated ninth nationally in pass efficiency and second in the Big Ten -- even though he had played only one full game. He has completed better than 60 percent of his passes this season and has thrown 14 touchdowns and only six interceptions.

His 259 passing yards against Penn State (completing 17 of 36 attempts) put him over the 2,000-yard mark for the second consecutive season, making him just the second Wolverines quarterback to accomplish that feat. Todd Collins was the other.

But easily Brady's best attribute is his composure, which he exhibited again Saturday while keeping the Wolverines' hopes alive.

"He's handled some very difficult situations," said nose tackle Rob Renes, who helped the Wolverines defense hold the Nittany Lions to 7 yards rushing, the lowest total ever by a Joe Paterno-coached team. "I'm not sure there are many athletes who could do that."