Tyler Reed was quick to point out that technically, they're still kids. That the last time they played in a game that counted, they were still in high school -- playing in front of no more than 5,000 people.

Pack about 95,000 more people into the stands, then save some space for the hope that these kids can somehow rescue a falling giant just inches away from splitting the canvas, and then see how they respond.

"For those guys to even go in there and do what they did today, I thought that was exceptional," said Reed, the Nittany Lions' right guard, referring to true freshmen Derrick Williams and Justin King, the athletes every PSU fan was waiting to see.

The Penn State football team (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten) didn't make them wait long on Saturday. Quite frankly, it didn't even wait one play before attempting to get the ball into the hands of one of its highly touted freshmen.

"I wanted to get those kids in the game as quickly as I could, and I said 'Let's let [the fans] know how fast they could run,' " Penn State football coach Joe Paterno said.

On the first play of Saturday's 23-13 win against South Florida, quarterback Michael Robinson faked a handoff to tailback Tony Hunt and then geared up to throw. It was a go route intended for Williams. Nothing too complicated, just simply blow by the defender and look for the ball.

The pass fell to the grass incomplete. The ball was 10 yards ahead of Williams. The yellow flag fell next. What followed was the most reassuring pass interference call seen around Happy Valley in quite some time.

"I was like, 'Aw, man, that was a touchdown,' but it happens we got the penalty," Robinson said.

The Lions failed to score on that opening drive. Five plays after the penalty, Robinson fumbled, erasing the possibility for points on that possession.

"I just wish we could have gotten some points off of that drive," Robinson said.

In essence, the drive was typical of the day the Lions had on offense. There were many opportunities to blow the game wide open. A catch here, an adjustment there, minimizing turnovers throughout, and this game could have very well been over by halftime.

The biggest offensive play came on the Lions' second drive, when King, who played significant minutes on offense and defense, received the ball on the back end of a double reverse and ran for 61 yards before tumbling out of bounds at the USF 6-yard line. The play set up a field goal by true freshman Kevin Kelly, giving the Lions a 3-0 lead.

"They didn't dominate the game, obviously," Paterno said, assessing the freshman. "But I think King's run obviously was a big time run."

As expected, the Lions defense played true to form for the most part. In the first quarter, linebackers Tim Shaw and Tyrell Sales were in on a bone-crushing tackle causing USF quarterback Pat Julmiste to fumble, allowing tri-captain cornerback Alan Zemaitis to scoop up the loose ball and return it 11 yards for the first touchdown of the game.

The Lions held a seemingly comfortable 17-0 lead until the waning moments of the first half. That's when defensive coordinator Tom Bradley moved starting cornerback Anwar Phillips to nickelback, plugging in King at the other corner position.

"I told Bradley to get King in there," Paterno said.

What followed was the Bulls' first touchdown as Julmiste hit his 6-foot-5-inch receiver, Johnny Peyton, on a corner fade route covered, unsuccessfully, by King.

"It's really tough for a young guy to come in there. He didn't get down on himself, and we didn't get down on him because we've seen him play, and we know what he can do," senior safety Chris Harrell said.

But the touchdown didn't stop the coaches from utilizing King in the second half.

"Ordinarily, I would've thought he'd eat that baby up. King's an awfully good athlete," Paterno said.

Overall, the additions of King and Williams definitely cracked open a window of opportunity that has seemed shut for the past few seasons. Williams finished the game with just three catches for 38 yards -- numbers that Robinson hopes will increase each week.

"He is a great receiver. He always wants the ball, and he always wants to make plays. That's what we've been missing around here the last few years," Robinson said of Williams. "He's gonna do some big things for us this season."