ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- For the second time in three weeks, the Penn State football team saw a victory there for the taking slip away in overtime.

A flu-ridden coach Joe Paterno held an abbreviated postgame news conference with reporters following a 42-35 overtime loss Oct. 5.

He was even shorter Saturday after the 15th-ranked Nittany Lions dropped a 27-24 decision in overtime to 13th-ranked Michigan that dealt a devastating blow to Penn State's Big Ten title hopes.

Paterno spoke for 2 minutes and 35 seconds at his postgame news conference and began by telling reporters that he would not make his players available for interviews.

"I'm not letting any players talk to you,'' Paterno said. "We want to get out of here and go home.''

Penn State did not make assistant coaches available either, something it has done for victories at home.

Michigan coach Lloyd Carr had a good idea of how the Nittany Lion players were feeling.

"I wouldn't have wanted to be in the losing locker room because those kids are heartbroken,'' Carr said. "They played with everything they had.''

Penn State dropped to 0-3 in overtime games under Paterno. And, as in the Iowa game two weeks ago, the Penn State offense failed to score a touchdown on its possession and the Penn State defense failed to stop its opponent from taking the ball 25 yards.

"It's a big win because we are coming off a bye week,'' Carr said. "You just don't know what to expect. It's a big win because Penn State certainly is in the top two or three teams in the conference.''

Penn State lost its sixth in a row to Michigan and will now have to wait until Oct. 15, 2005 to get another shot at the Wolverines. The teams won't play for the next two years because of the Big Ten's rotating schedule.

Penn State had reason to be steamed that the game even got to overtime.

On a third-and-5 at the Michigan 49-yard line, Zack Mills hit Tony Johnson on a completion inside the 25-yard line. Officials ruled Johnson was out of bounds but replays indicated that Johnson's feet were inbounds.

"I don't look at the replays,'' Paterno told the media. "You guys would see it better than I would see it.''

Michigan fans had reasons to question whether Bryant Johnson had possession on a 28-yard completion earlier in the drive.

Entering overtime, Carr said he didn't feel that Michigan had the edge, specifically because Penn State kicker Robbie Gould was 8-of-9 on field goals entering the game, including 4-of-4 in Penn State's 34-31 victory over Wisconsin last Saturday.

Michigan kickers Philip Brabbs and Troy Nienberg were a dismal combined 4-of-12 entering the game.

"Let's face it, I didn't want to go to overtime,'' Carr said. "I would prefer to kick the ball off.''

The overtime format gives teams the ball instead at the
25-yard line.

"In college football, in overtime the advantage goes to the team that kicks the best field goals, and certainly coming into this game, Penn State had a little bit better percentage than we did,'' Carr said.

On Saturday, however, Gould missed a 47-yard field goal and an extra point in the third quarter. Gould missed from 23 yards in overtime before getting a second chance and making a
20-yard field goal after an offsides call on Michigan.

In the 1990s, Paterno made his players off limits for the week leading up to an Ohio State game.

The Big Ten does not require schools to make players available to reporters.

"It's the coach's prerogative on something like that,'' Michigan sports information director Bruce Madej said. "We have done it where we have only brought in one or two players. We've done that. I've never had a game where we haven't had one.''

Madej said there have been games where he had to talk Carr into allowing a couple Michigan players to meet the press.