It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

While most people recognize that famous opening line to Charles Dickens' classic, A Tale of Two Cities, it also applies to the performances of the starting quarterbacks in Saturday night's Miami-Penn State tilt.

For Miami signal-caller Ken Dorsey, this type of game was old hat. Dorsey is the experienced signal-caller who had slain some of college football's biggest giants including Florida State, Florida and Virginia Tech last season.

Penn State countered with first-time starter Matt Senneca who only saw limited playing time last season and had thrown just 48 passes in his career.

Dorsey had the Great Wall of China blocking in front of him while Senneca stood behind an already battered and bruised offensive line that lost starter Joe Hartings and top reserve Eric Rickenbach in the preseason.

Although Miami lost two superstar receivers that were taken in the first round of the NFL Draft, the 'Canes had a plethora of talented wideouts back for this year. The Nittany Lions' receivers on the other hand struggled with a case of the drops last season and failed to make enough big plays.

On paper, Dorsey had the clear advantage. It showed on the field.

Dorsey finished 20-of-27 for 344 yards and three touchdowns. Senneca didn't even finish the game as he was just 1-for-7 for one yard.

"Ken Dorsey was very special tonight," Miami coach Larry Coker said. "He is better now than he has ever been."

Straight from the start, Dorsey exemplified why so many people have dubbed him a frontrunner in the Heisman Trophy race. The junior quarterback led Miami to scores on the 'Canes first five possessions.

By halftime, Dorsey had already aired it out for 205 yards and three touchdowns. His three-step drops and lightning-quick releases to his speedy wideouts and towering tight end, Jeremy Shockey, exposed more lose seams in Penn State's secondary than an old sweater.

Still, Dorsey gives all the credit to his imposing offensive line and the talented backs behind him.

"The backs did a great job of picking up blitzes and the offensive line did a great job of blocking," Dorsey said. "All the credit goes to the o-line tonight."

But the Penn State defense disagrees.

"I don't think he'll get sacked this year and I don't know how much of that has to do with their offensive line," Nittany Lions' linebacker Shamar Finney said. "He just gets rid of the ball so quickly and they have great receivers that run great routes too."

Penn State defensive end Michael Haynes was one of a handful of Nittany Lion defenders who found getting to Dorsey was a more than daunting task.

Haynes said the Hurricanes' offensive scheme helped Dorsey put up big numbers with relatively little pressure.

"You can't do anything against their offense because of their passing attack," Haynes said. "Most of their stuff was coming off of two and three step drops and his release is just so quick."

While the Nittany Lions struggled to get to Dorsey, the Hurricanes punished Senneca early and often. Senneca looked to throw the ball on two of the Lions' first four plays but had to scramble because of a collapsed pocket.

Even when Senneca did get a pass off, he usually found himself lying flat on his back after releasing the ball. Eventually the Hurricanes got to the junior quarterback enough that they knocked him out of the game with a bruised elbow.

"I was really anxious for this game, sitting in the hotel all day I was getting so excited getting ready to play this game," Senneca said "Things didn't work out the way we wanted, and we've just got to come out and do some better things against Virginia."

Redshirt freshman Zack Mills came on for Senneca and didn't fair too badly considering the circumstances. Mills finished 12-for-24 with 240 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions, one of which came on a meaningless Hail Mary at the end of the first half.

Like any other rookie quarterback who gets thrown into the fire, Mills was nervous at first but showed decent poise and confidence as the game progressed.

"I've been wanting to get in there to get that first play and that first series over with and to get that experience," Mills said. "For that to happen in the first game is a great thing for me."

Mills showed good decision-making abilities on his touchdown toss as he lofted a high ball to allow wideout Bryant Johson -- who was a good five inches taller than Miami cornerback Mike Rumph -- to make the leaping catch.

"Zack played a great game," senior tailback Omar Easy, a co-captain, said. "He hung in there and took some hits but he kept getting up.

"He grew up today."