Sitting on Northwestern's 1-yard line, Penn State called the inevitable on first-and-goal -- a fullback dive to BranDon Snow.

Taking the handoff from quarterback Anthony Morelli, Snow barreled through the middle and made the leap for the end zone -- a full two yards too soon. Snow never quite made it to the paint, something that drew a laugh from running back Tony Hunt.

"Maybe he thought he was going to make it. I think he thought maybe he could jump a little higher than maybe he could." Hunt said holding back his laugh. "No, he did a good job. That's a tough running play. It's usually just a mess down there, so I think the best thing is just to try to go over the top."

That play perfectly summed up the early game struggles for Penn State in the red zone. Though the Nittany Lions converted 7-of-8 chances inside the 20-yardline, four of those were Kevin Kelly field goals.

"When you blow as many chances as we did in the first half, unless your defense really plays a heck of a football game, you're probably going to get licked," Penn State coach Joe Paterno said.

Moving the ball hasn't been the problem for the Lions. Currently, Penn State ranks second in the Big Ten with 105 first downs, but last in red zone efficiency, scoring just 80 percent of the time within the opponent's 20.

The Lions didn't find the end zone Saturday until Hunt leaped over the Wildcat defensive line for a touchdown with 37 seconds left in the first half. Hunt's score was the third Penn State attempt to find the end zone from one yard out. Morelli had failed to punch it in on a quarterback sneak the previous play, and Snow's short leap preceded that.

"We were so close all game and had some struggles in the red zone," Morelli said. "It just took one to break it open."

After Hunt put the Lions up 16-7 before halftime, the rest of the scoring came easily. Even though Penn State settled for another Kelly field goal on its first drive of the second half and was forced to punt next time it had the football, Hunt added two rushing touchdowns to make the score 33-7 by the end of the third quarter.

While Penn State's players said they didn't do anything differently in the second half to fix their red zone woes, they did say they need to do a better job executing within the 20-yardline. Especially when they have three chances from their opponent's 1-yardline.

"No matter what we do, on the 1-yard line, we should be able to run anything and get into the end zone," Hunt said.

Day to remember

Offense: Deon Butler. After catching 11 balls for a Penn State record 216 yards, there's no doubt the offensive game ball has to go to Butler. The former walk-on continually separated himself from Northwestern defenders. The only thing missing from his big day was a touchdown.

Defense: Paul Posluszny. The senior linebacker finished with a team-high 10 tackles, moving him into third all-time on the career tackles list at Penn State. Posluszny needs just 18 tackles to reach Brian Gelzheiser and 47 more to break Greg Buttle's record 343 career stops.

Day to forget

Offense: Levi Brown. The senior All-America left tackle missed the game with a sprained knee. Prior to Saturday, Brown had made 21 consecutive starts. The last time Brown missed a game was against Purdue in 2004.

Defense: Jay Alford. After picking up what he thought was an Andrew Brewer fumble, Alford rumbled into the end zone, finishing his 41-yard run with a somersault. The move drew the ire of the coaching staff, who threatened to banish Alford to the scout team if he showed off again.

Quotable

After the game, defensive coordinator Tom Bradley talked about a hit Paterno took during practice last week while talking to Lydell Sargeant.

"I said, 'Lydell, you're never gonna play here. You could've taken the bullet and saved Coach.' But he didn't," Bradley said.

Did you notice?

Fans tying together their white towels to make one very long string ... more broken benches in the student section ... Morelli throwing to the 5-foot-7 Brendan Perretta deep in triple coverage ... running back Rodney Kinlaw's student fan group, "Kinlaw's In-laws" ... Paterno walking onto the field with the team instead of running ... the freshman/sophomore section dropping the Lion... Scott Paxson tailgating before the game and watching the action from the sideline.

Extra Point

After dealing with a position change and a brace on his right knee, Posluszny said at times he felt like he was lagging mentally this year. But after Saturday's game, he said he finally feels 100 percent physically and mentally.

"With what we were doing up front and the defensive scheme we had going, I just felt really comfortable," he said. "I just felt like I could see things more clearly. I felt at home today."

Posluszny said he expects to wear the brace the rest of the year, but "it's like it's not even there."