MINNEAPOLIS - Derrick Williams thinks of football as a business. That's why he shows up to the media room after games dressed in professional attire.

Whether it's his shiny cufflinks or a loud lime green shirt, the sophomore wide receiver always looks sharp.

But lately, Williams' clothes were the only things attracting much postgame attention. In five games prior to Saturday's overtime win against Minnesota, Williams had just 126 receiving yards, 72 rushing yards and only two touchdowns.

But Saturday, Williams had a game to match his unique sense of style.

Though he didn't score, he finished with a career-high 95 receiving yards, highlighted by a 56-yard bomb from quarterback Anthony Morelli, a career high for both players, in the second quarter.

Williams also added 22 yards on the ground, with his best run coming on an 11-yard jaunt that set up running back Tony Hunt's overtime touchdown run. Though, it appeared Williams was all but down after a marginal gain, he emerged from a group of defenders, willing himself to the Minnesota 2-yardline.

Williams, who played with a deep bruise on his side, said it was much more than his quick feet that got him through a defender's grasp.

"When the game gets down like that, the only thing you play with is heart. No injuries. No what happened before the game. No nothing," he said. "You just go out there and try to win the game. I just ran with my heart, and the defense had me and I just slipped out of it somehow."

As fans waited for Williams to display his full array of skills that made him such a threat last year, other receivers like Deon Butler and Jordan Norwood turned in career performances. Last week, as Butler stood at a podium talking about his record-setting game against Northwestern, Williams answered reporters' questions sullenly, not because he was jealous, but because the questions were becoming tiresome.

And though Norwood (five catches, 76 yards) and Butler (six catches, 66 yards) again turned in solid performances, it was Williams who borrowed the spotlight Saturday.

"Everybody's been doing things to take some things away from [Derrick]," Penn State coach Joe Paterno said. "Butler had that big day last week and Norwood got back in the swing of things, so it gave Williams a little more room."

Williams also returned a punt 17 yards to the Gophers' 39-yardline. The return set up a two-play scoring drive for Penn State, finished by a 15-yard Hunt touchdown run that gave the Lions a 14-7 lead at halftime.

"Derrick had a great day today," Morelli said. "Without that run he had, who knows what would have happened."

But while Williams turned in his best performance this season Saturday, he knows every week is a chance to earn more style points - whether it's with his superior sense of fashion or on the field.

"I did pretty good. There's a lot of things that I can improve on," Williams said. "Minnesota was a tough defense. I feel like Morelli just gave me the ball whenever I was open, and that's what quarterbacks are supposed to do."