Nebraska Finds That Penn State, Paterno Are Back, 40-7

After consecutive losing seasons, Joe Paterno and Penn State are back in a big way.

Larry Johnson and Michael Robinson had two touchdown runs apiece and Rich Gardner turned the first interception of his career into a touchdown as the Nittany Lions routed No. 8-ranked Nebraska, 40-7, Saturday night at State College, Pa.

Paterno, who has more major college wins than any other coach, got No. 329 in front of a record crowd of 110,753. It was the Nittany Lions’ first victory over a top-10 team since Sept. 18, 1999, when they beat eighth-ranked Miami, 27-23.

Penn State had two lean seasons after that, going 5-6 and then 5-7--Paterno’s first consecutive losing records in his long career. But with this one victory, the Nittany Lions showed their 75-year-old coach how much they have improved.

“I think this puts us right back on the map and opened a lot of eyes,” said Bryant Johnson, who had eight receptions for 147 yards.

Penn State (2-0) dominated the third quarter, eating away 7:10 before Robinson’s eight-yard touchdown run gave the Nittany Lions a 19-7 lead. Quarterback Zack Mills faked the handoff to Sean McHugh, then gave it to Robinson--the backup quarterback--on an end-around.

“I’m not the smartest guy in the world, but I’m smart enough to know when you’ve got a kid like Robinson, you put him in the game,” Paterno said.

Gardner intercepted Jammal Lord’s pass, intended for Ben Cornelson, and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown to make it 26-7.

After holding Nebraska (3-1) to three and out, Penn State got the ball on its own 45. Larry Johnson took the first play 35 yards up the middle, and Robinson--lined up now at tailback--ran for nine yards, then 11 for a touchdown to give the Nittany Lions a 33-7 lead with 2:15 left in the third quarter.

“In the second half, they put points on the board, and it just kind of snowballed,” Nebraska Coach Frank Solich said. “It did seem we played the game with greatly diminished energy as we fell behind.”

No. 22 Wisconsin 24, Northern Illinois 21--Quarterback Brooks Bollinger scored a touchdown on a two-yard run with 1:21 left, allowing the Badgers (4-0) to dodge the upset-minded Huskies (1-2) of the Mid-American Conference at Madison, Wis. Northern Illinois sacked Bollinger 10 times, held Anthony Davis--the Big Ten’s leading rusher last season--to 49 yards in 10 carries and had 455 total yards to Wisconsin’s 275.

Iowa State 36, Iowa 31--Seneca Wallace completed 23 of 37 passes for 361 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score as the Cyclones (3-1) rallied to beat the Hawkeyes (2-1) at Iowa City. Iowa State scored three touchdowns in the first 10 minutes of the second half and added a safety to erase Iowa’s 24-7 halftime lead and beat the Hawkeyes for the fifth consecutive time.

Northwestern 26, Duke 21--Brett Basanez threw to Jon Schweighardt for touchdown plays of 34 and 38 yards at Evanston, Ill., as the Wildcats (1-2) ended a losing streak that dated to last season at eight. Alex Wade rushed for a career-high 134 yards for Duke (1-2). The Blue Devils, who ended an overall losing streak at 23 games in their season opener against East Carolina, have lost 14 road games in a row.

Purdue 28, Western Michigan 24--John Standeford had seven catches for 143 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-deciding score on a 30-yard pass play from Kyle Orton with 5:26 left, as the Boilermakers (2-1) rallied to beat the Broncos (1-2) at West Lafayette, Ind.

Minnesota 31, Toledo 21--Junior quarterback Asad Abdul-Khaliq rushed for a career-high 103 yards and a touchdown and also threw for a score to lead the Golden Gophers (3-0) at Minneapolis. William Bratton ran for 114 yards and three touchdowns for Toledo (2-1). The Rockets stunned Minnesota, 38-7, at Toledo last season.

Kentucky 27, Indiana 17-- Jared Lorenzen threw three touchdown passes and running back Artose Pinner had 233 total yards as the Wildcats (3-0) defeated the Hoosiers (1-2) at Lexington, Ky. The game was delayed twice for a total of 58 minutes because of heavy rain and lightning.

Illinois 59, Arkansas State 7-- At Champaign, Ill., Jon Beutjer--a transfer from Iowa--passed for 266 yards and four touchdowns in his first start for the Illini (1-2). Illinois also got 131 yards rushing and three touchdowns from freshman Morris Virgil, whose 69-yard scoring run was the longest for the Illini since 1988. Arkansas State is 1-3.