Nittany Lions Fall to No. 4 Wolverines, 17-10Nittany Lions Fall to No. 4 Wolverines, 17-10

Nittany Lions Fall to No. 4 Wolverines, 17-10

Tim Shaw had six tackles, one for loss, two pass breakups and a sack against Michigan.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; October 14, 2006 - Beaver Stadium's white-out magic almost worked again.

Behind by a touchdown and operating with third-string quarterback Paul Cianciolo because of game-ending injuries to both Anthony Morelli and Daryll Clark, the Nittany Lions drew strength from the second-largest crowd in Beaver Stadium history and made the best of a tough situation before falling, 17-10, to No. 4 Michigan.

Cianciolo found Tony Hunt on a screen pass for a 43-yard touchdown with three minutes remaining in the game, energizing the 110,007 in attendance. The first career scoring pass for the sophomore quarterback and the career-long reception for Hunt cut Michigan's lead to seven points.

The Lion defense forced the Wolverines to punt with 1:44 left over for a game-tying march. Cianciolo tried valiantly but completed just one pass on Penn State's final drive and the Lions suffered their first home loss since November 6, 2004, a span of 12 games.

When asked if he was nervous coming in against Michigan, Cianciolo answered, "You don't expect two guys in front of you to go down but that is why we practice - to be ready. If I am not ready to step in to play in front of my home crowd I shouldn't be playing quarterback."

The Wolverines own a 5-1 record against the Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium, including wins in the last four games played at the site. Michigan improves to 9-3 all-time against the Lions.

Wolverine tailback Mike Hart rushed 26 times for 112 tough yards and a touchdown, while quarterback Chad Henne completed 15 passes for 196 yards and a score. The Michigan defense forced a fumble, made seven sacks and held Penn State's offense to 186 total yards in the win.

Penn State amassed -14 yards of rushing, the lowest total ever under Joe Paterno.

Tony Hunt led Penn State with 85 yards receiving, including a career-high 43-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Michigan's total team effort drew praise from Paterno. "That's one of the best teams in the country right now," he said after the game. "We made one or two mistakes and they didn't make any. We probably played as well as we can play."

Penn State had an opportunity to score on its first possession but could not convert. AJ Wallace returned the opening kickoff to midfield and the Lions marched to the Michigan 29-yard line. The drive stalled there, however, and Kevin Kelly's 46-yard attempt sailed wide left.

Coming into tonight's game, Penn State had given up just 10 points in first quarter action ?C only Minnesota has scored a touchdown in the opening frame. Tonight, the Nittany Lion defense stepped up again and the first period ended in a scoreless tie.

The teams traded punts until Chad Henne broke the 0-0 deadlock with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Adrian Arrington at the 11-minute mark of the second quarter. The scoring strike capped a 10-play, 75-yard drive and momentarily took the massive crowd out of the game.

The Wolverines forced the Lions to punt after just five plays and on the ensuing drive, marched 44 yards in eight plays to the Penn State six-yard line. From there, Garrett Rivas drilled a 23-yard field goal to give Michigan a 10-0 lead.

With the white-clad student section quieted and momentum slipping away, the Lions needed to respond and did. They put together a monster 16-play drive to put crucial points on the board before the first half clock expired. Morelli completed four passes for 64 yards and Hunt carried five times for 17 yards on the drive, which resulted in a 22-yard field goal from Kevin Kelly with 15 seconds remaining in the first half. At the break, Michigan led 10-3.

In the third quarter, misfortune befell the Nittany Lions. Halfway through the period the Wolverine defense knocked Morelli out of the game with a vicious ?C but seemingly legal ?C hit on a passing play. Despite absorbing a crushing blow, Morelli connected with Derrick Williams for 24 yards, but the hit ended the quarterback's night.

The game was not decided until the final two minutes.

Michigan scored a touchdown to close the third quarter. Mike Hart's 20-yard touchdown run gave the Wolverines a 17-3 lead heading into the final stanza.

Early in the fourth quarter, Clark got knocked out of the contest by the bruising Michigan defense and Penn State's prospects looked dim at best. After the third-stringer Cianciolo threw his first career touchdown pass to Hunt, the Lions had one final chance but could not score.

"We proved we could play hard for four quarters against one of the best teams in the nation," said Penn State captain Paul Posluszny after the game. "We are one play away ?C a fumble or an interception ?C from winning a game like this."

Lloyd Carr improves to 109-34 in his 12th year as coach of the Wolverines and owns a record of 33-13 in conference games on the road. The Wolverines have a 35-8 mark in the 10th month of the year under head coach Lloyd Carr and have won 21 of their last 24 contests in October. U-M is 5-1 vs. Penn State in October.

Michigan returns to Ann Arbor to host Iowa at the Big House next week; Penn State stays in Happy Valley and hosts Illinois as part of the school's Homecoming festivities.