Two of college football's most familiar names returned to the spotlight Saturday and set up what will likely be a significant shakeup of the top 10.
Notre Dame and Penn State have fallen on recent hard times, but both came up with huge wins against national powers to signal they are ready to return to the sport's upper echelon.
Notre Dame finally scored an offensive touchdown and then relied on two key defensive plays to record its third win in as many tries this season, 25-23 over No. 6 Michigan.
Penn State, meanwhile, blasted No. 7 Nebraska, 40-7, with Larry Johnson and Michael Robinson both scoring two touchdowns.
Four of the top-five teams in the country were in action Saturday and none of them had any problems remaining unbeaten. But Michigan and Nebraska fell victim to teams very anxious to get back into the chase for a national championahip.
Cornerback Shane Walton batted away a two-point conversion pass with 2:53 left and added an interception moments later as the 21st-ranked Fighting Irish escaped with their win in South Bend.
It was Notre Dame's first win over a top-10 foe in four years and it came after the Fighting Irish had managed to capture their first two games this year with only field goals and defensive touchdowns.
John Navarre pulled the Wolverines within two points with an eight-yard touchdown pass to tight end Bennie Joppru. Notre Dame cornerback Vontez Duff was injured on the preceding play and walked out of the end zone, apparently without telling his teammates.
The Fighting Irish had just 10 men on the field and Navarre capitalized by finding Joppru, who had seven catches for 80 yards. Notre Dame regrouped following a timeout and, with 11 men on the field, Walton deflected Navarre's toss in the direction of Braylon Edwards.
Michigan (2-1) regained possession with 1:25 left before Walton intercepted Navarre, sealing Notre Dame's first win over a top-10 team since defeating Michigan, 36-20, on Sept. 5, 1998.
Notre Dame (3-0) continued its revival under Tyrone Willingham, who became the first Fighting Irish coach to win his first three games since Dan Devine in 1975.
"It feels good. To beat a team like Michigan, ranked No. 6 in the country, is a big win for us, the whole football program and the community around here," Notre Dame quarterback Carlyle Holiday said.
"We've just got to build on it. There will be so much more enthusiasm and energy running through the players for the next couple of weeks."
In State College, Pa., Johnson and Robinson each ran for two touchdowns and cornerback Richard Gardner returned an interception 43 yards for a score.
Penn State Coach Joe Paterno remains the all-time leader among Division I-A coaches with 329 wins, but Penn State has endured back-to-back losing seasons and was not overly impressive in a 27-24 victory over Central Florida in its opener two weeks ago.
But the Nittany Lions (1-1) took a huge step in restoring their reputation by recording their first win over a top-10 team since a 27-23 victory at Miami on Sept. 18, 1999.
In the process, Paterno made amends for one of the more lopsided losses in his tenure, a 44-6 setback in the first Kickoff Classic in 1993, which was the last meeting between the schools.
While Paterno was silencing his critics, Nebraska coach Frank Solich can expect to feel the heat from another lackluster performance against a marquee team. The Cornhuskers dropped to 1-7 on the road against ranked teams since Solich took over in 1998.
Despite the showings by Notre Dame and Penn State, the Miami Hurricanes gave no hint they were ready to give up their No. 1 ranking.
Miami coasted past Temple, 44-21, to get to 3-0. No. 2 Texas was a 52-21 winner over North Carolina and third-ranked Oklahoma blasted Texas-El Paso, 68-0.
No. 4 Tennessee had the week off while fifth-ranked Florida State downed Maryland, 37-10.
Further down in the top 10, No. 8 Ohio State fought off No. 11 Washington State, 25-7, and No. 10 Georgia won over South Carolina, 13-7. Ninth-rated Virginia Tech began the college weekend with a 47-21 victory over Marshall Thursday night.
