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MIAMI (Ticker) -- The Penn State defense made a big play and Chafie Fields did the rest to do in Miami. The third-ranked Nittany Lions held on fourth down at their own 21-yard line before Fields caught a 79-yard touchdown pass from Kevin Thompson with 1:41 left to rally Penn State to a 27-23 victory over No. 9 Miami. It was the first road win over a top-10 team by Penn State (4-0) since a triumph at Michigan in 1994. "I stay in coaching for games like this," Penn State coach Joe Paterno said. The Hurricanes (2-1) had a chance to stretch their lead to six points, but instead tried for a first down that likely would have sealed the game with Penn State out of timeouts and 1:52 left. After James Jackson was stopped on fourth down, Thompson hit Fields, who shook off blanket coverage by Michael Rumph down the left sideline and raced to the end zone for the winning score. "He ran with me step for step the whole play," Fields explained. "He just looked too late." Fields was in single coverage and did not even have a step on Rumph, but Thompson placed the ball perfectly. "He made a great release and just ran down the field," Thompson said. "I got the ball there and he made a great play." Kenny Kelly threw a pair of interceptions thereafter, his fifth turnover of the game. "You can't go into this type of game against an opponent of the quality of Penn State and make the fundamental mistakes we made and expect to win the game," Miami coach Butch Davis said. "The turnovers and mistakes kept us out of our rhythm early and we got it going in the second half and even took the lead. We had a lot of success in the second half, and the kids showed they can play in this type of ballgame." Kelly completed 11-of-21 passes for 160 yards but threw four interceptions. "A loss or a win is a team thing, so I don't take the blame for the loss," Kelly said. "But the team isn't to blame for the turnovers I made. The turnovers were my own personal fault." Jackson carried 33 times for 129 yards and two touchdowns. He became the first player in 15 games to break 100 yards rushing aaginst the Nittany Lions since former high school teammate Fred Taylor did it for Florida in the 1998 Florida Citrus Bowl. But it was the one yard he could not make that ended up making the difference. "I got forced inside and I just held on tight and tried to keep my legs moving," Jackson said. Fields made five catches for 177 yards, including a 49-yard TD from Rashard Casey on the final play of the first quarter. Casey completed 7-of-9 passes for 99 yards and an interception and Thompson was 9-of-15 for 147 yards. Paterno platoons the pair by feel, with Casey the better runner. Penn State had 356 total yards, but Fields had 128 on his two scoring catches alone. Miami registered six sacks of Casey and Thompson and posted 320 yards of offense. The Nittany Lions jumped to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter on a 32-yard field goal by Travis Forney -- which was set up by hero back Derek Fox's interception -- and Fields' first scoring catch. Andy Crosland got Miami on the board 23 seconds into the second quarter with a 29-yard field goal. Eric McCoo pushed Penn State's lead to 17-3 with 10:51 left in the third quarter on a two-yard run. Miami mounted a spirited comeback. Jackson finished off a 60-yard drive with an 18-yard TD run with 3:56 left in the period. Nine seconds into the fourth quarter, Kelly underthrew Santana Moss, but the receiver came back to the ball and turned it into a game-tying 40-yard touchdown catch. Forney kicked a 26-yard field goal after Penn State took the ensuing kickoff and marched 64 yards in nine plays. But Miami took back the momentum and grabbed its only lead with 7:42 left. Sprung by a big block from pulling guard Richard Mercier, Jackson ran 39 yards around the right side for a 23-20 lead. However, Crosland missed the extra point.
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