BIG TEN ROUNDUP : Penn State Tunes Up for USC With 56-3 Victory

Joe Paterno went into Penn State’s opener with questions about his defense.

And even though his ninth-ranked Nittany Lions shut down Minnesota’s vaunted passing attack with a 56-3 victory Saturday night at Minneapolis, his questions were not answered to his satisfaction.

But there were never any questions about Penn State’s offense. Kerry Collins completed 19 of 23 passes for 260 yards and three touchdowns and Ki-Jana Carter rushed for 210 yards, with scoring runs of 80, 62 and two yards.

Defensively, Penn State held the Gophers to 130 passing yards.

“Everything went our way,” said Paterno, whose team plays host to No. 17 USC next Saturday. “We really had no adversity, so it’s hard to judge if we’re good or not. Next week might give us a better idea of where we stand and how far we’ve got to go.”

Funny, Minnesota Coach Jim Wacker had no trouble making the judgment that Penn State already is pretty good.

“They did about everything as good as you can do,” he said. “They turned us inside out and upside down. Ki-Jana Carter is as good as any back in the country. If there’s a better one, I don’t want to see him. And Collins had a great, great night.”

Collins had 14 consecutive completions during one stretch, breaking by two Bill Smaltz’s 54-year-old school record. Collins’ touchdown passes went to Freddie Scott, Keith Olsommer and Bobby Engram.

“We wanted to establish the fact that we can spread the ball around,” Collins said after Penn State churned out 345 yards rushing and 344 passing for a near-record 689 total. “It is a good feeling to get into a good rhythm. Everything seems to slow down, defenses are easy to read and your confidence builds. Tonight was a good omen. I just hope it continues.”

Iowa 52, Central Michigan 21--Sedrick Shaw ran 80 yards for one touchdown and Kent Kahl punched in for three others as the Hawkeyes ran over the Chippewas in a nonconference game at Iowa City.

The Hawkeyes, who averaged only 108 yards rushing last season, had 347 against Central Michigan and scored seven running touchdowns, two shy of the school record set against Cincinnati in 1990.

Central Michigan stunned Big Ten opponent Michigan State two of the past three years but had no chance against Iowa, which finished with 568 total yards. Iowa punted only once.

Indiana 28, Cincinnati 3--Alex Smith, the first Indiana freshman to start at running back since 1945, rushed for 152 yards and two touchdowns as the Hoosiers beat the Bearcats at Bloomington, Ind.

Smith, a redshirt last season, scored on runs of one yard in the first quarter and 22 yards late in the third. He did not play in the final quarter.

Three interceptions, two in the first quarter, hurt Cincinnati.