MINNEAPOLIS - Sitting in the hospital Thursday night with a dislocated finger, Anthony Morelli didn't know if he would be able to start Saturday's game at Minnesota.

As he sat at a folding table in a dimly lit Metrodome corridor on Saturday afternoon, all doubts had been erased - and not just the ones concerning his playing status.

Poised and confident, Morelli whipped the ball to all ends of the field and to each of his receivers, playing a pivotal role in Penn State's overtime victory against the Golden Gophers. On occasion, Morelli was even seen barking at his teammates for not making plays, an answer to those who have questioned his ability to lead the Nittany Lions offense.

Morelli dislocated the middle finger on his left (non-throwing) hand at the end of Thursday's practice. The injury spurred from a miscommunication between him and backup center Patrick Weber, as the latter snapped the ball before the quarterback was ready.

Penn State's medical staff tried in vain to put the finger back in place with a series of yanks and pulls, but the injury required a trip to the hospital, where doctors used a machine to finally get the finger back in place.

"Once they got it back into place, I said 'We're going to tape it up and I'm going to play, and that's it.' " Morelli recounted.

His coaches were not so sure.

"I didn't know Thursday night whether he would play or not," head coach Joe Paterno admitted, wondering how Morelli's ailment became public knowledge before the game. "I told everyone to keep their mouths shut."

Quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno was also uncertain of whether or not his starter would be ready to go. After bringing dinner to Morelli's apartment Thursday, so as not to have the quarterback's injury spotted in public, the younger Paterno created contingency plans in case backup Darryl Clark had to start.

No revision to the gameplan was necessary, though, as Morelli had his finger taped up and experienced no problems either before or during Saturday's game, finishing 20-of-34 for 281 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

In the first half alone, the junior gunslinger threw for 191 yards and a touchdown. In the second quarter, Morelli recorded the longest completion of his career when he rolled out to the right, set his feet and found Derrick Williams in stride on a post pattern for 56 yards.

Just as important as the numbers, though, is the fact that Morelli showed he's capable of taking control of the offense and making throws in tight games, which might explain why he was the one to carry the Governor's Victory Bell off the field.

"You could almost see it in the way he walked today and the way the team responded to him," the elder Paterno said. "He's finally chewing out some kids on the sideline. This is a big boost for him and the football team."

Morelli, now with six starts under his belt, agrees.

"The beginning of the year was a bunch of growing pains, but now they trust me out there on the field, and that's a big confidence boost for me," Morelli said.

Playing with a dislocated finger - which was still a discolored shade of purple after the game - perhaps Morelli was able to take his mind off the pressure of being Penn State's quarterback.

"He's really a tough kid," Jay Paterno said. "When they had to take him to [the hospital]...he let off a few expletives. But he didn't whine or anything like that. He just wanted to go play."

Morelli wound up getting exactly what he wanted.