Kelly made his only field goal attempt of the game, a chip shot from 23 yards out, but was most impressive on kickoffs, which he repeatedly bombed into South Florida's end zone. Ironically enough, kickoffs were the one part of Kelly's game that Paterno was most worried about after watching the freshman in practice.

"That's the best he kicked off. We gotta put a crowd in there in practice," Paterno joked.

The return game was also strong, despite the fact Paterno elected to have last year's punt returner, Calvin Lowry, handle the job for the afternoon. Lowry did break a 39-yard return early in the third quarter, but some in the stands voiced their displeasure over the job not going to freshmen Justin King or Derrick Williams.

"I think we're asking those kids to do so many things that, I think, last Thursday maybe they started to get tired and having some trouble concentrating on

some things," Paterno explained. "School was starting and they started classes on Tuesday, and I said, 'Lowry's good enough.' "

Day to remember

Offense: Tony Hunt. Hunt was fairly quiet in the first half but ended up rushing for 144 yards on only 15 carries including a 70-yard scamper in the third quarter. Austin Scott didn't get a carry in the game, and Hunt's strong performance suggests that he's not about ready to give up carries without a fight.

Defense: Scott Paxson. Paxson fell into, and managed to emerge unscathed from, Paterno's doghouse in the offseason. The senior, who led the nation in blocked kicks last year with five, had seven tackles, including two for a loss.

Day to forget

Offense: Pass protection. The Pass Protection was bad all around, and it feels unfair to single out a single player. Levi Brown, supposedly the anchor of the line, struggled against the speed rush of South Florida's ends, and both the line and the running backs must take the blame for allowing a linebacker to snag two sacks.

Defense: Justin King. Yes, King did rip off a huge run on a reverse, but he played meager snaps on defense and got exploited for a touchdown on a fade.

Quotable

"And that kid No. 4, he's good too, he's got the best hands on the team. Scriotto. Sciratto, Scirotto, however you say it. Is that how you pronounce it?" said Joe Paterno, showing his disdain for Italian names while attempting to praise freshman defensive back Anthony Scirrotto.

Did you notice?

The 10-12 guys sitting together in the student section all wearing bright pink Penn State shirts... How 75 percent of the stadium still reacts with "ooooh's" when Chris Harrell destroys the Louisiana Tech receiver during the gladiator video... The constant baiting of the crowd by USF players... Alan Zemaitis almost getting the ball knocked out of his hand while celebrating à la Leon Lett on his fumble return for a touchdown... The sign saying, "Where there's a D-will, there's a way."

Extra Point

Saturday made it abundantly clear that Paterno will have to cave on his policy of restricting media access to true freshmen. Mark Rubin was in the media room by the end of last season, and he didn't have nearly the impact that Williams and King should have this season.