EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — If there was one highlight for the Penn State offensive line at the Kickoff Classic, it was a fumble recovery.

In the second quarter, Penn State tailback Eric McCoo lost the ball at the Nittany Lions' own 28-yard line. A scramble ensued as Penn State and USC traded possession until Lions senior guard Kareem McKenzie dove across the wet grass of Giants Stadium and secured the ball at the four-yard line.

The scramble for the ball was similar to the chaos that Penn State quarterback Rashard Casey endured while trying to elude the rush of USC defenders. Or the chaos that occurred each time the Lions attempted to run the ball.

After all the breakdowns, it was obvious that the offensive line had hardly reached the level of improvement that Penn State coach Joe Paterno expected.

After preaching cohesion and consistency, Paterno settled on his starters, despite their inexperience: McKenzie, Joe Hartings, Frank Spano, Josh Mitchell and Imani Bell.

"The five kids that started have been there for about a week," Paterno said. "They're obviously not a great offensive line. But if you can keep an offensive line healthy, you can get them pretty good. They are the best we have, obviously."

But Penn State's best incurred five false start penalties. Rather than moving the ball forward, the offense was walking backward in five-yard increments to start the play with even worse field position.

McKenzie, a starter as a true freshman, is the only lineman with significant playing experience. Spano split time at center with Eric Cole and Joe Iorio last season, but the remainder of the line rarely took the field and never at the same time.

Nonetheless, McKenzie believes that the relative youth of his fellow linemen didn't cause any flare-ups of pregame nerves.

"We had a good talk with them before the game," McKenzie said. "We told them not to be nervous and just go out there and play football."

In addition to their own problems with jumping across the line too early, the Lions had problems with the Trojans jumping across the line, period. Penn State's run was stuffed early and often, leading to six total rushing yards on 22 attempts.

"That offensive line has taken a lot of heat," USC coach Paul Hackett said. "They really put together a fine performance. They had a few little slips, but that's a good defense."Not great, not last year's, but I felt good about our performance."

Hackett had every reason to feel satisfied after the game. His Trojans compiled 164 rushing yards on 50 attempts. His leading rusher was Sultan McCullough, who ran for 128 yards through cavernous holes, thanks to the Trojans' impermeable line.

"The offensive line was great," McCullough said. "We work together. Our coaches, from running backs to line to tight ends, we all want to run the ball. If we can run the ball, we can win a lot of games."

And if the Lions can solidify the line, they can be doing the same.