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Behind Royster, Penn State runs all over Oregon State

Sep 7, 2008 - 1:46 AM STATE COLLEGE, Pennsylvania (Ticker) -- Evan Royster ran for three touchdowns and No. 19 Penn State used an early offensive burst in a 45-14 victory over Oregon State on Saturday.

Royster opened the scoring with a 15-yard TD run and he added two more in the second quarter for Penn State (2-0), which scored a touchdown on five of its seven possessions in the first half.

The Nittany Lions led, 35-7, at the half and extended the lead to 45-7 after three on a touchdown run by quarterback Daryll Clark and a 31-yard field goal by Kevin Kelly. Clark also passed for a pair of TDs.

Jacquizz Rodgers ran for two TDs for the Beavers (0-2).

It was one of those games where nearly everything worked for Penn State, especially on offense. The Nittany Lions racked up 594 yards of offense against Coastal Carolina in their season opener and were just as impressive against Oregon State with 454 yards

Royster rushed 17 times a career-high 141 yards and Jordan Norwood had eight catches for a career-high 116 yards and a TD. Royster also had three TDs in Penn State's season opener, and his 4-yard score just under four minutes into the second quarter made it 28-0.

Royster was quick to credit the rest of the offense for his success.

"It isn't me. It is the line," Royster said. "When you get in the open, you only have to worry about one other person. Hopefully we will keep moving forward and our offensive line will keep working hard."

Clark completed 14-of-23 passes for 215 yards and two TDs. After Rodgers scored on a 12-yard run to get the Beavers on the board, Clark led the Nittany Lions to a score on the ensuing possession, capping the 11-play, 78-yard march with a 22-yard scoring strike to Norwood to make it 35-7.

"(Clark) played very well today, and he played these two games very well," Penn State assistant coach Galen Hall said. "He did a great job of throwing it. We caught the ball extremely well. I am very pleased with that phase of our game."

Oregon State quarterback Lyle Moevao, who passed for 404 yards and three touchdowns against Stanford last week, was bottled up by the Penn State defense. He was 25-of-41 for 250 yards with two interceptions and was sacked twice.

"I think Lyle made a lot of very good plays. I think they got us in situations where we needed to convert and we didn't convert," Oregon State coach Mike Riley said. "We missed some opportunities. They mixed up the coverages. They had a good rush. Pressure was always applied; that's just Penn State's m.o."

Now it appears that Penn State will be 4-0 heading into Big Ten Conference play. Games against Syracuse and Temple are ahead for the Nittany Lions before Illinois comes to Happy Valley on September 27.

Oregon State is 0-2 for the first time since 2004 and hosts Hawaii next week.

"I really think the season plays out according to the improvement of your team," Riley said. "Win or lose today, we have to get better and, obviously, after today, we have a lot of getting better to do."