ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Penn State knew exactly what Michigan was going to do.

Mike Hart to the left, right and up the middle.

The 10th-ranked Nittany Lions couldn't stop him yesterday, or JoePa's longest losing streak against one school.

Hart ran for 153 yards on a career-high 44 carries and scored early in the fourth quarter, leading Michigan to a 14-9 win over Penn State.

Even though the Nittany Lions stacked their defense to stop Hart, Michigan coach Lloyd Carr didn't hesitate to keep giving him the ball.

"I'm not dumb," Carr joked.

Two weeks after its season seemed doomed, Michigan has new life.

The Wolverines (2-2, 1-0 Big Ten) have climbed back to .500 after starting the season with two of the worst losses in school history. They were the fifth-ranked team in the country when Appalachian State stunned them in the opener. The next week, they were blown out of the Big House by Oregon.

"Some people will still talk about us in a bad way," Hart said. "But a lot of people will see that Michigan is back."

Penn State (3-1, 0-1) has lost nine straight games to Michigan, the longest winning streak by one team over the famed coach and almost doubling the second-best run against him.

"It's always frustrating when you lose," said Paterno, whose second-longest skid is five against Iowa. "I don't necessarily think it matter that it's Michigan."

NO. 1 USC 47, WASHINGTON STATE 14

LOS ANGELES — John David Booty completed 28 of 35 passes for 279 yards and four touchdowns before coming out early in the fourth quarter, and the Trojans (3-0) opened their Pac-10 season by beating the Cougars (2-2) for their 35th straight home victory.

Booty, who passed for 350 yards previously this season, threw for 191 yards and two touchdowns to Fred Davis in the first half, when the Trojans took a 27-7 lead. The outmanned Cougars didn't have a first down for six straight possessions after their opening drive.

NO. 3 FLORIDA 30, MISSISSIPPI 24

OXFORD, Miss. — Tim Tebow passed for two touchdowns, ran for two more and set a school record for quarterbacks with 166 yards rushing to lead the Gators (4-0, 2-0 SEC), who got off to a slow start and allowed the Rebels (1-3, 0-2) back into the game at the start of the fourth quarter.

But Tebow came up with a handful of clock-killing runs after he directed two second-half touchdown drives, scoring on a 6-yard run and throwing a 37-yard touchdown pass to Louis Murphy.

NO. 5 WEST VIRGINIA 48, EAST CAROLINA 7

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Pat White threw for two touchdowns and ran for two, Steve Slaton rushed for 110 yards and a score to match a school record for career touchdowns (42), and the Mountaineers (4-0) rolled up 599 total yards against the Pirates (1-3).

The Mountaineers didn't allow a score until the final two minutes, limiting the Pirates to nine first downs and 160 total yards.

NO. 6 CALIFORNIA 45, ARIZONA 27

BERKELEY, Calif. — Justin Forsett rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns, and Nate Longshore passed for 235 yards and a touchdown to lead the Golden Bears (4-0, 1-0 Pac-10) over the Wildcats (1-3, 0-1).

Willie Tuitama set school records for pass attempts and completions, going 42 of 61 for 309 yards and Mike Thomas had a career-high 12 catches, second-most in school history, for 105 yards and a score for Arizona.

NO. 7 TEXAS 58, RICE 14

AUSTIN, Texas — Colt McCoy passed for 333 yards and three touchdowns as the Longhorns (4-0) routed the Owls (0-4) in their last non-conference game before the start of the Big 12 schedule.

Limas Sweed caught five passes for 139 yards with touchdowns of 52 and 24 yards as the Longhorns pounded out any lingering frustrations after three close wins and a wave of bad publicity surrounding player arrests and suspensions in recent weeks.

NO. 8 OHIO STATE 58, NORTHWESTERN 7

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Todd Boeckman tossed three touchdown passes to Brian Robiskie in the first half and the Buckeyes (4-0) held the Wildcats (2-2) to zero yards on 33 rushing attempts.

Robiskie, son of former NFL player Terry Robiskie, scored on all three of his receptions, which covered 42, 28 and 19 yards. Boeckman finished 11 for 14 for 179 yards and four scores, also throwing a 48-yard TD pass to Ray Small.

NO. 9 WISCONSIN 17, IOWA 13

MADISON, Wis. — P.J. Hill ran for 113 yards and scored on third-and-goal from the 2 for a 14-10 lead in the fourth quarter as the Badgers (4-0) rallied past the Hawkeyes (2-2) in the Big Ten opener for both.

The Badgers barely moved the ball in the first half, nearly fumbled away their first chance at a touchdown and went into the fourth quarter trailing 10-7.

NO. 13 OREGON 55, STANFORD 31

STANFORD, Calif. — Dennis Dixon threw a career-high four touchdown passes and rushed for another score, and the Ducks (4-0, 1-0 Pac-10) scored 34 straight points and shut out the Cardinal (1-2, 0-2) in the second half.

Jeremiah Johnson scored the go-ahead touchdown midway through the third quarter and Jonathan Stewart, who rushed for 160 yards on 19 carries, also scored as the Ducks trailed 31-24 at halftime.

NO. 14 B.C. 37, ARMY 17

BOSTON — Matt Ryan threw for 356 yards and accounted for four touchdowns before leaving the game midway through the fourth quarter, leading the Eagles (4-0) over the Black Knights (1-3).

NO. 15 CLEMSON 42, N.C. STATE 20

RALEIGH, N.C. — C.J. Spiller and James Davis each caught a touchdown pass and rushed for another as the Tigers (4-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) dominated the Wolfpack (1-3, 0-2), scoring on four of their first five possessions.

NO. 22 GEORGIA 26, NO. 16 ALABAMA 23

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — After Leigh Tiffin kicked a 42-yard field goal to give the Crimson Tide (3-1, 2-1 SEC) a 23-20 lead in overtime, Matthew Stafford threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Mikey Henderson to lift the Bulldogs (3-1, 1-1).

NO. 17 VIRGINIA TECH 44, WILLIAM & MARY 3

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Brandon Flowers returned an interception 49 yards for a touchdown and Eddie Royal scored on a 60-yard punt return to lead the Hokies (3-1) past the overmatched Tribe (2-2) of the Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA).

SYRACUSE 38, NO. 18 LOUISVILLE 35

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Andrew Robinson threw for a career-high 423 yards and four touchdowns to help the Orange (1-3, 1-0 Big East) stun the Cardinals (2-2, 0-1) and quarterback Brian Brohm, who completed 45 of 65 passes for a career-high 555 yards and four touchdowns.

NO. 21 KENTUCKY 42, ARKANSAS 29

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Andre Woodson threw for 265 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score, leading the Wildcats (4-0, 1-0) past the Razorbacks (1-2, 0-2) for their second consecutive fourth-quarter comeback victory.

NO. 23 SOUTH FLORIDA 37, NORTH CAROLINA 10

TAMPA, Fla. — South Florida validated its first Top 25 ranking and the Bulls (3-0) set themselves up for next week's much-anticipated Big East showdown against No. 5 West Virginia with a rout of the Tar Heels (1-3).

NO. 24 NEBRASKA 41, BALL STATE 40

LINCOLN, Neb. — Sam Keller's third touchdown pass, an 11-yarder to Maurice Purify, finally put the Corrnhuskers (3-1) in the lead with 3:13 left in the game. The Cardinals (2-2) moved in position to win the game in the final seconds, but Jake Hogue's 55-yard field goal attempt was wide left.

NO. 25 MISSOURI 38, ILLINOIS STATE 17

COLUMBIA, Mo. — Chase Daniel completed 21 of 34 passes for 294 yards and three touchdowns and the Tigers (4-0) had 581 yards of total offense in rolling past the Redbirds (2-2) of the Football Championship Subdivision.