ROSE BOWL: PENN STATE 38, OREGON 20 : All the Lights Turn Green : Penn State’s Carter Wonders Whether It’s Time to Take the NFL’s Money and Run

On each of his three Rose Bowl touchdowns, Penn State tailback Ki-Jana Carter broke through the line of defense and said he saw nothing but green.

First, the green of Oregon uniforms, then the green, green grass of home.

He raced 83 yards for a score the first time he touched the ball, barreling over Duck cornerback Herman O’Berry into what seemed like open pasture.

Carter raced 17 yards around the left side in the third quarter to undo a 14-14 tie, fogging up Coach Joe Paterno’s Coke-bottle lenses in the process with a very un-Penn State-like strut-after- touchdown.

“I’ve never celebrated before when I scored a touchdown,” Carter apologized later. “It just happened. I hope it wasn’t too much, I was just excited, seeing nothing but green just like the first touchdown.”

Minutes later, Carter scored a third time, this time from three yards out, effectively dashing Duck upset plans as the Nittany Lions finally separated from their pesky opponents en route to a 38-20 victory.

Red was the color of the rose of this bowl, but green was the theme for Carter.

In the end, as Carter recounted his 156 yards in 21 carries, and his share of the game’s player- of-the-game award with Oregon quarterback Danny O’Neil, he would also have to consider the color of money.

He left the Rose Bowl field to the chants of “One more year! One more year!” from the Penn State faithful who obviously want Carter to return next season. Although listed as a senior, Carter has a year of eligibility left.

There would appear little left for him to accomplish. This is a player who averaged 7.4 yards a carry on Monday and had to call it an off day considering he entered play averaging 7.8 yards a carry for the season. What more could Carter do next season? Lead his team to another 12-0 record? Match the emotions of a national championship celebration that took place Monday, ignoring what pollsters said Monday night and are likely to repeat today?

“You see our hats,” Carter said, alluding to the victory caps he and teammates had donned. “We’re national champs no matter what, that’s how I’m feeling right now. I’ve never won anything as a team award, ever. But we won. Nobody beat us. So why can’t we be champions?

“We’re going to make our national championship rings, everything. Everything that any other team would do.”

A team such as, uh, Nebraska?

And what would make Carter not make himself eligible for the NFL draft in April and return to Happy Valley?

That burning, off-season incentive to average eight yards a carry in 1995? To win the Heisman Trophy instead of finishing second? To gain more than 1,000 yards for a third consecutive season?

To prove what?

“I don’t know yet,” Carter said of whether he will chase a different kind of green into the NFL. “I’m going to sit down with my mom and Coach Paterno. I guess I’m just going to see what’s the best thing for me. I think the main thing is how high I’ll go (in the NFL draft). In June, I’ll be able to graduate, no matter what.”

Carter, from Westerville, Ohio, is not ready to sit down with anyone yet. Kathy Carter, his mother, stood in the back of the Rose Bowl interview tent and pondered her son’s future.

“It’s always been his decision,” she said. “Even when he was being recruited by Notre Dame and Ohio State.”

Kathy Carter said the show of affection by Penn State fans afterward might be a factor. “It feels good,” she said.

She added that her only concern is that her son leave college with a degree. “We want him to graduate,” she said. “I’ve got to have that diploma so I can hang it on the wall. It would be the first in our family in a long time. I’m 30-something, and I ain’t seen one in a while.”

She said any decision can wait until after the cheering stops.

Monday, Ki-Jana Carter wanted only to share the moment. He seemed more than happy to share MVP honors with O’Neil, as he warmly embraced the Duck quarterback at the podium.

Carter said he’d even be willing to share the national title.

“They’re a great team,” Carter said of Nebraska, which will not likely have to split the mythical title. “I think the least they can do is split it up. Give us one, give them one, because we worked too hard to get where we’re at, and they did too. Even though (the voters) feel sorry for (Nebraska Coach) Tom Osborne, I haven’t got a national championship and neither have the rest of my teammates. They need to look at that too.”

Carter said it bothered him that Nebraska was anointed champion the night before Penn State took the field.

“That thing on NBC ticked me off last night,” Carter said. “(NBC broadcaster) Bob Costas just gave them the championship without even considering that we’re 12-0 too. Why can’t we have it? They didn’t beat us. We didn’t beat them. So why not?”