The only question left was whether this incomprehensible Penn State offense could execute the eight-second drill.

The Lions (7-0, 4-0 Big Ten) had already wound their way to five touchdowns in the first half of a 63-14 dismantling of Ohio State (6-3, 3-2) Saturday before the largest crowd (97,079) in Beaver Stadium history. They had driven 73 yards and 96 yards and 72 yards and 60 yards for touchdowns. And just seconds earlier, they had made a mockery of the two-minute drill, completing a five-play, 57-yard drive in an economic 35 seconds.

So finally, mercifully, quarterback Kerry Collins decided to kneel on the ball and end the half. The unstoppable Penn State offense had chosen to stop itself.

"Unstoppable is a pretty big word," quarterback Kerry Collins said.

But it is the right word. It is the only word to describe the utter embarrassment the Lions handed one of the Big Ten's perennial powers.

Was this the same Penn State team that had sloshed its way to a 24-6 loss in the mud and snow of Ohio Stadium a year ago?

"We wanted to show everybody that we were a better team," tailback Ki-Jana Carter said.

Despite their offensive show, Penn State dropped to No. 2 in the Associated Press Poll, falling six votes behind a Nebraska team that mauled Colorado Saturday, 24-7. The Lions remained No. 1 in the CNN/USA Today Coaches Poll.

"I'd be miffed if we weren't No. 1," Collins said after yesterday's game.

The Lions, after all, certainly played like a No. 1 team. Collins was unstoppable, completing 19 of 23 passes for 265 yards and two touchdowns. Tailback Ki-Jana Carter scurried his way to four touchdowns and 137 yards on 19 carries.

"They may be one of the best offensive football teams I've seen in coaching," Ohio State Coach John Cooper said.

Yes, but are they No. 1?

"What good does it do to think about it?" Coach Joe Paterno insisted. "I don't have to talk about it, and I'm not going to."

He will leave that to the rest of the alumni and fans who flocked to Happy Valley for Homecoming and saw Penn State pile on the points from start to finish.

After scoring on their first drive for the fifth time in seven games, the Lions were actually stymied once by the Ohio State defense, and punter Joe Jurevicius made a rare appearance.

"We get mad (when we punt)," Collins said.

They certainly got even. And then some. It took them 13 plays and five minutes, 34 seconds to drive 96 yards. The drive, which incorporated four running backs and three wide receivers, was topped off when Carter sprinted in from one yard away.

The Lions scored again on their next drive, as Collins found a diving Engram for 15 yards in the corner of the end zone.

And slowly but surely, the Homecoming game of 1994 was sinking from the sublime to the absolutely unbelievable.

The Lions led 28-0 when they took possession with 1:31 left in the half. Collins found wideout Freddie Scott for 11 yards. Then he looked over the middle for Engram, who proceeded to lay himself out, grasp onto the bullet pass with one hand and pull it into his chest.

"I got a hand on it and I was able to get another hand on it," said Engram of the 12-yard reception, which drew an unbelieving murmur from the crowd. "Kerry throws the ball so hard, it has no choice but to stick in my hand."

Collins found Archie three plays later for a 15-yard touchdown. And there were still 56 seconds left in the half.

"We just wanted to keep scoring and scoring and show the country that Penn State is for real," offensive lineman Marco Rivera said.

Perhaps the height of embarrassment for the Buckeyes came at the massive hands of defensive tackle Chris Mazyck, who picked off Ohio State quarterback Bobby Hoying's pass near the 10-yard line and rumbled into the end zone.

By that time, the score was 56-6, and the game had been handed over to the tail end of the Lions' depth chart.

The Buckeyes, meanwhile, had lost tailback Eddie George to a sprained ankle and simply watched this offensive show in helpless wonder.

And if they had a vote . . .

"Penn State's the No. 1 team in nation," Hoying said, "and after what they did to us, they deserve to be No 1."