It was no accident that Penn State deferred the opening kickoff Saturday evening. Defensive coordinator Tom Bradley and Joe Paterno knew that Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis would elect to start the game on offense if given the chance.

In turn, the No. 12 Nittany Lions (2-0) gained the opportunity to choose where the Irish began their first drive and the coaching staff elected to kick to the south end of Beaver Stadium, near Penn State's loudmouthed student section.

The idea was to create as much noise and confusion possible when Notre Dame freshman quarterback Jimmy Clausen stepped under center for his first series as a collegiate starter.

But while making Clausen feel uncomfortable, the Lions defense was also forced to adapt to the crowd noise, which has become customary during highly anticipated, widely attended, big-time games.

"It's hard for a lot of people down there," Bradley said of the south end zone area. "This may sound crazy but we've talked about [how] our crowd gets into it so much, that on defense we practice with crowd noise. We have to use our hand signals. We've got to adjust to how loud they get."

Linebacker Dan Connor admitted he had to make in-game adjustments, and considering that, Clausen held up fairly well, he said.

"It's tough defensively. I couldn't hear. It was tough to even make the checks because it was so loud," Connor said. "[Clausen] kept his head and he did a great job."

The atmosphere did affect Notre Dame's offense, though. The Irish (0-2) collected 14 penalties for 97 yards, including a false start by left tackle Paul Duncan before their first play.

"Even though we practiced noise, a couple of those false-start penalties can be attributed to noise," Weis said.

That's why the Penn State defense can withstand some racket in exchange for fans creating chaos for opposing offenses.

"It was big," cornerback Lydell Sargeant said. "Our fans are the greatest fans in the country. They came up big time for us, kind of like the 12th man."

Day to Remember

Offense: Derrick Williams, WR. Not so much for what he did on offense, but Williams kept the Lions in the game early with his 78-yard punt return touchdown while the offense sputtered.

Defense: Dan Connor, LB. The linebacker was named national defensive player of the week for his 12-tackle effort.

Day to Forget

Offense: Anthony Morelli, QB. He wasn't asked to do much and had a few nice throws, but the first-quarter interception could have been devastating if the defense wasn't so solid.

Defense: If you can find a defensive player who had a bad day, e-mail us. The defense allowed only a field goal and even then, the points weren't its fault. Notre Dame's Tom Zbikowski returned a punt to the Penn State 7, and the Irish went three and out.

Did you notice?

The pre-game wave ... Jared from Subway wearing a Connor jersey ... the good amount of white in the seats reserved for Notre Dame fans ... the empty top rows of the student section at kickoff ... A.Q. Shipley singing along to Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight" before the game. "I've been waiting for this moment all my life," Shipley mouthed.

Quotables

"Unreal," wideout and tri-captain Terrell Golden said during pre-game warm-ups, in reference to the full-stadium White Out.

Extra Point

LaVar Arrington posed for pictures and mingled on the Penn State sideline. The former Lions linebacker, currently not on a NFL roster, is recovering from injuries he sustained in a June 18 motorcycle accident in Prince George's County, Md. "Everything is going well. I'm progressing faster than I thought," Arrington said.