The game was already over when Minnesota's backup running back took the handoff on 2nd-and-goal from the 1-yard line during No. 16 Penn State's 44-14 win Saturday.

Linebacker Paul Posluszny leapt over the Golden Gopher's offensive linemen, stuffing Gary Russell and his team's chances of an undefeated season.

The Nittany Lions haven't been ranked in The Associated Press poll since 2003, when they were ranked No. 25 before losing to Boston College in week two.

Going from unranked to No. 16 isn't very common. The Lions' game with No. 6 Ohio State (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) this week will be the hardest test yet.

"We're 5-0," Posluszny said after Saturday's game. "Minnesota's a good, physical football team."

Obviously, the Golden Gophers (4-1, 1-1) weren't quite as good or physical as the Nittany Lions (5-0, 2-0).

Gophers coach Glen Mason said after the game that his team didn't play well offensively.

"Well, it's probably like it always is. It's blocking," he said. "Everyone wants to say, 'Well, you stopped [running back Laurence] Maroney.' You didn't stop Maroney; you stopped Minnesota's offense. Just like, when he gains a lot of yards, it's not Maroney. It's Minnesota's offense."

The Gophers' offense has been machine-like so far this season, but they picked up only 287 yards of total offense from 60 plays. They had the ball for only 24 minutes and 42 seconds, too.

It was the Lions' offense that looked machine-like, thanks to 91 plays worth of total offense for 539 yards.

"We got them out of whack early," Lions coach Joe Paterno said. "We didn't do anything fancy. We tell our kids that when you play a great back, you need to make him run east and west; you can't let him run north and south. So, you got to come off some blocks inside. We didn't do anything special."

Posluszny was not ringing the Governor's Victory Bell -- the trophy associated with the game -- afterward, probably because he "didn't do anything special." Still, it was the second week in a row that he either had or tied for the lead for the Lions in tackles. He's also tied for second in the Big Ten in tackles.

"Today didn't even compare to last game," he said. "In the beginning of the game, it felt like we should be on the field more."

To say that the Lions were energized for the game may be putting it mildly. Defensive end Matthew Rice indicated that comments Maroney made last week should not have been said. The defensive line was in the Gophers backfield a lot, and the Heisman Trophy hopeful played his worst game so far this season.

"I think No. 68 was banged up," defensive coach Tom Bradley said about guard Mark Setterstrom. "He looked like he was hobbling early in the game, and he wasn't himself."

Posluszny, a team captain and a junior, did exactly what a linebacker is supposed to do -- stop the run.

He laughed when he heard his tackle of Russell in the fourth quarter could be called "Posluszny's push."

"I don't know," he said. "I just saw that the ball carrier was going to go up top, and we were always taught that if someone goes up top, you just go up after 'em, so ... "

Ohio State enters Beaver Stadium on Saturday, and its linebackers aren't that bad either. Senior A.J. Hawk doesn't lead the conference in tackles yet, but he also had this weekend to sit in Columbus, Ohio, and think about that statistic. The game has been sold out since tickets went on sale in August.