A pencil-thin streak of white chalk running from his left eyebrow to the middle of his forehead was about the only sign that BenJarvus Green-Ellis played football at all on Saturday.

Throwing crimson mesh shorts on over his spandex and gently flexing his arms, the Indiana running back explained that he wasn't tired at all.

The Hoosiers' freshman tailback had the right to be, rushing 42 times for 203 yards and catching two passes for two yards against Penn State Saturday in the Nittany Lions' 52-7 victory at Beaver Stadium.

Green-Ellis' performance set a record for the most carries by a single player and was the third-highest rushing total by an opponent in the history of Beaver Stadium.

His 203 yards were the seventh most against Penn State and a career high for the freshman playing in just his 11th collegiate contest.

In becoming the 11th player to rush for 100 yards against the Lions this season, Green-Ellis was only the second to see his team lose the game when doing so. Temple running back Makonnen Fenton had 23 carries for 118 yards in Penn State's 23-10 season-opening victory.

Green-Ellis said superlatives were hollow in the wake of Indiana's ninth loss of the season.

"It means something but not as much as it would if we would have won the game," Green-Ellis said.

"Individually, it means a lot, but I wish I could have rushed for 300 yards and we could have won the game. I want to go out next time and rush for 300 so we can probably come out with a W."

For a while, it looked like the Hoosiers could do just that. Green-Ellis had 71 yards on 12 carries after the first quarter including eight carries for 45 yards on the game's opening drive. By halftime, the New Orleans native had 24 carries for 122 yards.

Because of its quick-scoring offense, Penn State's defense was on the field for 19:43 in the first half. The Lions scored on their first three drives, each one lasting less than 3:19.

Still, Green-Ellis said the added playing time had little effect on his endurance. Indiana football coach Gerry DiNardo said after the game that the Hoosiers expected to run as much as they did.

"He's obviously an adorable back, one that can play four quarters," DiNardo said. "We felt we could run the ball on them. They were the 11th rushing defense in the conference and we have made progress in our running game over the past two years. That didn't mean we were going to run the ball every down, but, in our offense, if you can run the ball, we can throw the ball a lot better."

It didn't appear to give the Hoosiers' passing game any extra boost, however.

Indiana quarterback Matt LoVecchio had a mediocre performance, completing 14 of 27 passes for 112 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked four times, however, and threw an out pattern to Green-Ellis in the fourth quarter that Penn State linebacker Paul Posluszny jumped and returned 15 yards for a touchdown.

"We had a good game plan, we just didn't execute it well," Green-Ellis said. "They jumped on us, scored two touchdowns off of turnovers and a blocked kick. We just have to go out and play better. We can't make those mistakes, especially in a hostile environment."

He slumped forward to slip socks on his feet, flexing and stretching as he sat up again.

He looked spry, agile and rested. If it weren't for the chalk, you might not guess he played at all.