IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Nine.

The number on Ted Williams' back.

The number of innings in a baseball game.

The number of planets in the solar system.

The number of times Penn State's defense sacked Iowa quarterback Paul Burmeister Saturday at Kinnick Stadium on the way to a 31-0 rout.

Yes, nine times. It was a day where the Lion defense gleamed, Burmeister was reemed and tailback Ki-Jana Carter couldn't be stopped, it seemed.

With the victory, the 250th of Coach Joe Paterno's career, No. 9 Penn State remained a perfect 3-0, registering its first Big Ten victory on the road.

"With the way they played today," Iowa Coach Hayden Fry began, "they look like they could be very competitive in the Big Ten."

On an overcast day in front of 70,397 in Iowa City, Penn State played four strong quarters on defense and two on offense to hand the Hawkeyes (2-1) their first loss of the season.

In the first quarter Iowa threw, Penn State ran and the score was 3-0 in favor of the Lions. A Shelly Hammonds' interception, proceeded by two big runs by Carter and a scramble by starting quarterback John Sacca, set up a 20-yard field goal attempt which Craig Fayak promptly nailed.

But in the second quarter, perhaps the biggest event of the afternoon was when Kerry Collins trotted onto the field behind center, while Sacca was relegated to the sidelines.

"If I sense something, I'm probably going to do something," Paterno said of the move. "I'm just gonna play it by ear."

Sacca, who misfired on six of his first seven attempts, was distraught by Paterno's decision, suggesting he might even quit.

"I felt like I was just getting into a little groove," Sacca said. "We went down there scored three points. But that was it."

Quickly overshadowing the surprise move by Paterno was the inspired play of the defense. At 12:27 of the second quarter, Hawkeye bashing was truly initiated when, in three plays, defensive tackle Tyoka Jackson stopped tailback Sedrick Shaw for no gain and linebacker Todd Atkins sacked Burmeister twice.

"I was just at the right place at the right time," Atkins shrugged.

At 4:57, nose tackle Eric Clair snared a point-blank interception after linebacker Eric Ravotti crashed into Burmeister, hurrying his toss. The Lions cashed in quickly on five carries by Carter (19 carries for 144 yards) and a back-flipping, touchdown by fullback Brian O'Neal upping the Penn State lead 10-0.

"With the way we played in the first half, I couldn't believe we were so close at half time," Fry said.

Sparked by Hammonds electrifying 54-yard return of the second-half kickoff, Penn State erupted and turned a close game into a near massacre. On the series following Hammonds' return, Collins salvaged the drive, finding receiver Bobby Engram for 15 yards on fourth down for the conversion. Tailback Stephen Pitts capped the rally with a nine-yard touchdown scamper.

Turnovers, thunderous sacks and an airtight secondary provided Penn State with optimal field position for the remainder of the game and prevented Iowa from putting a crooked number on the scoreboard.

"That was very gratifying, getting the shutout," Ravotti said. "We didn't want them to score at all."

It was the first time since 1984 that anyone had kept Iowa scoreless at home. With little running game (32 yards total) and zero time in the pocket, Iowa never really mustered any scoring threat.

"We haven't had a shutout in years," Jackson said afterwards. "We owed it to ourselves, our fans and our coaches to play four good quarters of football."

By the fourth quarter, Burmeister finally succumbed to the effects of four good quarters of Penn State defense. Finishing the afternoon 17 of 34 with three interceptions and nine sacks, Burmeister went to the bench midway throught the fourth quarter.

"Burmeister is really beat up now," Fry diagnosed. "He really took some shots in there."

With a young offensive line, Iowa had little to counter Paterno's bridage, an eight-man attacking front. With depth at line and linebacker, it was easy for Paterno to rotate players in and out while staging a war of attrition.

"Maybe the Iowa guys were a little tired," he offered. "We felt we had to pressure them."

Penn State pressured, pummelled and pounded the Hawkeyes with an obviously fired up demeanor. After every tackle, or very big play, bear hugs were the norm. Jackson's helmet must be dented from all the headbutts.

"We were hustling, we were gang tackling," defensive tackle Lou Benfatti said. "Emotionally we're feeling pretty good."

Jackson said the defense is closer this year, Ravotti said there's commraderie. Guys pulling for each other, not worried about their own statistics.

"Everyone's attitude is completely different," Ravotti said. "This is a new team with new players and a new attitude."

And it is a defense that limited Iowa to 226 total yards of offense and zero points. A defense that has allowed a combined 66 yards rushing in the past two weeks.

"The older guys here know how to make great things happen," Jackson said. "And that's through emotional, hard-nosed football."

And getting those shutouts, well, "that's just gravy," Benfatti added.