One glance at Tony Hunt's battle scars after Saturday's game, and it was obvious who the Penn State workhorse was.

The white chalk running down his left forearm: Touchdown. Those grass-stained bandages above his nose: Extra yards on a facemask.

And the smile on his face: 143 rushing yards and a win.

Anyway you looked at it on Saturday, Hunt was the difference maker, gaining more yards on the ground than the entire Penguins offense gained through the air.

"Every time I turned around, he was running for eight yards," wideout Deon Butler said. "He's back to the Tony I'm used to seeing from last year, just running through defenders."

Hunt seemed to feel the same way. He labeled the first game "a mess" he was trying to forget, the second as an improvement -- and this one, well, he seemed pretty pleased.

"Today, [I] took it to another level," he said, nodding.

Hunt averaged 7.9 yards per carry, a majority of which seemed to come on second- and third-efforts that saw him break multiple tackles. It was a performance the coaches praised, and at least one fan was excited about.

Following the game, Hunt removed some white tape from one of his cleats after a female fan pointed, clamoring for the game-used souvenir. Hunt obliged, handing it over while she screamed, cradling it like a winning lottery ticket.

Why wouldn't she -- that tape could be seen on the highlight reels, with Hunt bull-rushing his way past Booker Moore to No. 13 on the Nittany Lions' career-rushing record list. Hunt now has 2,187 yards -- 49 yards behind Charlie Pittman at No. 12.

It was the most impressive team rushing performance (389 yards) since 2002 when the Lions ran for 390 yards against Michigan State, on the legs of Larry Johnson. Still, Hunt certainly stood out.

One of his more memorable plays came in the third quarter when he stiff-armed Youngstown State linebacker Tom Froelich, forcing him to the turf and running for another five yards before being brought down.

For Hunt, however, it was just another play. After all, it was difficult to keep track of all the stiff-arms and broken tackles.

"I'd tell you all about it, if I could remember," Hunt said, laughing.

Center A.Q. Shipley may not have remembered that specific play either, but he could recall with ease what made Hunt such a good back.

"The thing he does the best, he understands the blocking scheme so he sees everything and knows how to read and react off it," Shipley said. "It's unbelievable to have him back there. You know you're going to do this, and you know he's going to be at the right spot at the right time."