UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., Oct. 29 -- Top-rated Penn State loudly answered anyone who dared question its No. 1 status Saturday with a good old-fashioned whopping of a nationally-ranked opponent. Ki-Jana Carter scored four touchdowns and Kerry Collins threw two touchdowns for Penn State in a 63-14 victory over No. 15 Ohio State. It is the first time Ohio State has surrendered more than 60 points since an 86-0 loss to Michigan in 1902. 'I'm as surprised as anybody, it was just one of those days. We had a great week of practice and played a great game,' Penn State coach Joe Paterno said after the Big Ten matchup. 'We had some great catches, and except for those two plays in the second half (fumbles). They dropped some balls and didn't have a great day. That happens.' Carter carried 19 times for 137 yards and Collins was 19 of 23 for 265 yards as Penn State raised its record to 7-0 and 4-0. Carter scored on a seven-yard run in the first quarter and added TDs of one and 36 yards in the second quarter as the Nittany Lions roared to a 35-0 lead at the half. 'He's an explosive back. Once he gets his hands on the football, you can't get a hand on him, and he breaks tackles. It's hard to imagine a better tailback in the country,' Paterno said of Carter. Collins hit Bobby Engram with a 15-yard touchdown midway through the second and added a 15-yard score to Mike Archie right before the half to complete the scoring.
'If there is a quarterback playing any better than Kerry Collins he's got to be out of this world. He's really played well the last seven or eight games. Whether there is anybody that him, I don't know,' Paterno said. Ohio State, which fell to 6-3 and 3-2, finally got on the scoreboard when Bobby Hoying hit Chris Sanders with a 14-yard touchdown early in the third quarter. Hoying was passed for just 87 yards on 12 completions. Archie scored on a 17-yard run and Carter completed his day with an eight-yard run to raise the lead to 49-6 after three quarters. Penn State needed an impressive win, knowing that No. 3 Nebraska had beat second-rated Colorado 24-7 earlier in the day. The victory likely kept the Nittany Lions number one and put the team on a clear course for their first Rose Bowl appearance under Joe Paterno and first overall since 1923. 'You guys (media) can talk about it. You have papers to sell. I don't have to talk about it and I'm not going to,' Paterno said. Penn State has won 12 straight games, the second longest current streak in the nation behind Auburn's 19. Ohio State was the last team to defeat the Nittany Lions, winning, 24-9, in the snow at home last season. Penn State has scored over 30 points in all of its games this season.
