BIG TEN ROUNDUP : Penn St. Humbles Another Foe, 61-21

Penn State has been so thoroughly dominant that the Nittany Lions are starting to wonder what it is like for their victims.

No. 6-ranked Penn State, 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the Big Ten, jumped to a 45-0 lead and cruised to a 61-21 victory over Iowa on Saturday at State College, Pa.

The game followed the pattern of Penn State’s first two victories--56-3 over Minnesota and 38-14 over USC. In each game, Penn State has led at least 28-0.

“I wonder what it’s like to be on the other side of the field,” tailback Ki-Jana Carter said. “I wonder what they are thinking.”

Carter scored two first-quarter touchdowns and backup tailback Mike Archie scored three times in the first 16 minutes as Penn State put away Iowa (2-1, 0-1) early.

Penn State took advantage of a blocked punt, an interception, a fumble and a porous Iowa defense to build a 42-0 lead, as Archie got his third score on a four-yard run 37 seconds into the second quarter.

Penn State ran for 309 yards, passing only 13 times. Quarterback Kerry Collins completed five of seven passes for 98 yards and one touchdown in limited duty.

In the first quarter, Archie made the score 14-0 when he broke through the line of scrimmage, threw a fake that froze Iowa cornerback Damien Robinson and ran 35 yards.

“On the second touchdown, Mike Archie almost broke those kids’ ankles,” Carter said.

After the horrific start, Iowa was able to settle down and move the ball, outgaining Penn State 455 yards to 433.

“As bad as things went out there today, we can definitely see some positive things,” fullback Kent Kahl said.

Iowa didn’t stop Penn State until Coach Joe Paterno pulled Collins with 11:05 left in the first half.

The Nittany Lions put the game away in the first quarter when they scored 21 points in about two minutes.

After Archie’s second score made it 14-0, linebacker Phil Yeboah-Kodie recovered a blocked punt in the end zone for a 21-0 lead. Two plays later, Penn State cornerback Tony Pittman, who also had an interception, forced a fumble by wide receiver Demo Odems and Yeboah-Kodie fell on the ball.

Northwestern 14, Air Force 10--This nonconference game at Air Force Academy, Colo., was supposed to feature lots of offense, but it came down to a touchdown on a 96-yard return of a fumble recovery by Wildcat cornerback Chris Martin with 12:12 left to play and an interception by linebacker Geoff Shein that killed a scoring threat by the Falons with about a minute remaining.

Northwestern Coach Gary Barnett said another key was the punting of Paul Burton, who had three punts of more than 60 yards and a 57-yard average.

“Is he a weapon or what?” Barnett said. “My biggest worry with Paul is that he will get used to kicking in this altitude (6,800 feet above sea level) and want to transfer.”

It was the first victory for Northwestern (1-1-1) in the last 11 games, including a 41-41 tie with Stanford the previous week.

Air Force (0-3) held Wildcat running back Dennis Lundy to 60 yards in 18 carries. He had 138 yards against Notre Dame and 130 against Stanford.

“We had a good plan and the kids executed it,” said Falcon Coach Fisher DeBerry.

Ohio State 27, Pittsburgh 3--The Buckeyes had five sacks, five other tackles for losses, caused a fumble, intercepted a pass, broke up four passes and blocked two kicks in manhandling the Panthers in a nonconference game at Columbus, Ohio.

Pitt (1-2) was held to 139 yards passing and 103 rushing.

Ohio State quarterback Bob Hoying completed 14 of 21 passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns, a 12-yarder to Buster Tillman in the second quarter and a 43-yard strike to Chris Sanders in the third. Hoying set up Tillman’s touchdown with a 45-yard run.

Eddie George rushed for 126 yards in 17 carries and also scored a touchdown for Ohio State (2-1), which had 512 yards but committed five turnovers.

Pitt was limited to 242 yards.

Illinois 34, Northern Illinois 10--Johnny Johnson, relegated to No. 2 quarterback after a season-opening loss, passed for two touchdowns and the Illini (2-1) pulled away in the second half at Champaign, Ill.

Johnson, who completed 15 of 20 passes for 222 yards, relieved in the second quarter after starter Scott Weaver had thrown two interceptions. Johnson immediately directed the Illini on a 69-yard drive, aided by a third-down pass interference call.

Northern Illinois (0-3) trailed only 14-10 at halftime.

Purdue 49, Ball State 21--Mike Alstott rushed for 156 yards and four touchdowns in 19 carries and Carey Rogers ran for 124 in 13 to lead the Boilermakers at West Lafayette, Ind.

It was the first time since 1983 that Purdue had two 100-yard rushers in one game, and it gave the Boilermakers their first 2-0 start in a season since 1978. Purdue beat Toledo, 51-17, in its opener.

The Boilermakers survived turnovers on their first three possessions, then dominated the Cardinals (0-2) with their most productive rushing performance since Mel Gray had 176 yards and Lloyd Hawthorne 109 against Indiana in 1983.