The No. 25 Nittany Lions waited all week for their game against Division I-AA Youngstown State.

Usually, a nationally ranked program like Penn State doesn't circle a game against a program from the Div. I-AA ranks. But after the Lions suffered their worst loss since 2003 to Notre Dame eight days ago, every Penn State player was eager to erase the memories of the loss.

And after the Lions ran through the Penguins (2-1) 37-3 Saturday behind senior running back Tony Hunt's 143 rushing yards, consider the mission accomplished.

"It felt great, just getting back into it," sophomore wideout Derrick Williams said. "The only thing we had to do was go out there and show people that we need to be respected."

By the time reserve quarterback Daryll Clark capped the win with an 18-yard touchdown run with 1:37 left in the game, the contest was all but over. Though for a rebound game, the Lions (2-1) certainly looked flat at times.

Junior quarterback Anthony Morelli completed just 40 percent of his passes for 154 yards. Kicker Kevin Kelly made three field goals, including a career-long 49-yarder in the second quarter, but also missed three.

With a date against No. 1 Ohio State looming Saturday afternoon in Columbus, it wasn't the most promising performance for Penn State.

"We were sloppy," Penn State coach Joe Paterno said, "but I think we made some progress in some areas. We were a little erratic in some areas, and we need to improve on that, naturally ... We're certainly not good enough yet."

The game was scoreless at the end of the first quarter. It wasn't until Kelly connected with his 49-yard field goal that the Lions finally got on the board, taking a 3-0 lead with 9:51 left in the second quarter.

"I'm sure we didn't expect it," Morelli said of the slow start. "It just so happened that our opponent wasn't a lot better than us today, and we were able to come out and feel a little fire and move the ball later in the game."

Three and a half minutes after Kelly's initial field goal, freshman A.J. Wallace finally got the offense moving. Taking a reverse handoff from Hunt, Wallace raced down the sideline for a 76-yard touchdown run, giving the Lions a 10-0 lead.

"He was a spark plug for our offense today," Morelli said. "He took it the distance, and everybody got fired up. We came out a little lackadaisical, but once everybody saw him do that, it was on. We were ready to roll."

While Wallace and Hunt paced a Penn State rushing attack that amassed 389 yards, the passing game never quite hit the same stride.

"It didn't get in sync the way I would like it to be, but we ran the ball well today," Morelli said. "I can't complain. We won, and that's all that matters."

But despite some lingering kinks, wideout Deon Butler said it was good just to redeem Penn State football after a long week of practice.

"[We] just want to win, just want to go back and get things rolling," he said. "Show everybody that last week wasn't Penn State ball and just get back to playing football."