Mills & Robinson knew

When the season began, the hallmark of this Penn State football team's offense was supposed to be its balance.

With golden child quarterback Zack Mills throwing to sure-handed wideouts Tony Johnson and Bryant Johnson, and multi-back Michael Robinson coming into throw defenses off-kilter, the Nittany Lions looked to stun people with their unpredictability.

Recently, the Lions have reverted to their old ways, the passing game makes rare appearances, and the Robinson as slash phenomenon hasn't been as integral as it once was, but it doesn't seem to matter.

When you have a guy that can run for 2,000 yards on your team, no one else has to do much. Just give him the ball and block.

Tailback Larry Johnson has been untouchable in the month of November, and has taken any chance of attaining glory away from his other offensive stars, but no one seems to care. They're having fun watching him.

"It's unbelievable. Unbelievable," Robinson said. "I'm just glad I can be there on the sideline and shake his hand afterwards."

Most of the time, football players claim not to know anything about statistics, but 2,000 yards is too big a number for them to ignore.

"After a couple carries, we saw up on the screen how much more he needed," Bryant Johnson said. "We knew he could get it. I talked to him in the huddle, and I just told him be patient. I remember one time, he got the ball, and he only got two yards, and he needed 11. I just told him be patient and you're going to get it."

These players have seen what Johnson has had to work through in his five years as a Nittany Lion. They watched as he split time with fellow tailbacks Eric McCoo and Omar Easy waiting for his chance to be the man.

They knew he was a great back, and they knew once he got a chance he could do something special.

"I think that when last season ended against Virginia, I think he new it was gonna be his time and his turn," Mills said. "[I didn't really expect 2,000 yards] to tell you the truth, but he's a heck of a football player and heck of a back. Who knows what can happen with him.

"It's exciting to see him come on like that. Especially the way he's come on the last four weeks. I think he's broken Curt Warner's single-game rushing record four times. That's an amazing feat right there."

What amazes them more is the way he rolled past most defenders untouched, brushing off arm tackles like flies and bowling over the few tacklers that have put a decent hit on him, despite the fact that all of them know he is getting the ball.

The Spartans were putting nine, sometimes 10 men in the box to key on Johnson and it never seemed to matter. On his last run, the 38-yard touchdown scamper that allowed him to break the record, they stacked the line almost entirely.

"If I had the choice I was going to [change the play]," Mills said. "Probably three or four times during the game I wanted to check out to the pass because they were putting so many men in the box. It was just amazing. Especially the one where he broke 2,000, I looked up and thought, 'There is no way he's going to get through here,' because there were literally nine men on the line of scrimmage. I just give him and the offensive line all the credit in the world."