Bags of chips are sandwiched between a cooler of drinks and a box of Old Spice deodorant packaged in tiny plastic pouches -- placed there for the influx of gamers expected to arrive.

The free give-a-ways lay in the center of the room as black, white and red streamers race across the ceiling overhead.

Then, the door opens to the sound of a bell as Penn State football players Derrick Williams and A.Q. Shipley walk in. It's minutes after 11 p.m. on Monday night, and Williams, who has to wake up for a 6 a.m. workout the next morning, is patiently waiting -- just the same as any gamer is -- to put his hands on a fresh copy of the EA Sports video game, NCAA Football 09.

"I love this game," Williams says. "I leave the house, it's coming with me."

Williams has come to the midnight release at GameStop on North Atherton Street for the last three years to get an early look at the popular college football game and check it out to see if the skills the virtual D-Will possesses can live up to the ones seen on Saturdays.

So where does Williams think he stacks up?

"I'd rank myself about a 97, 98 overall," Williams says. "Speed is kickin' there at about 97, hands are 99."

The receiver actually comes in as a 92 overall, with 97 speed and an 88 catching ability.

Williams said he just has a natural feel for the video game that makes it impossible for anyone to keep up with him, regardless of who he plays with.

"See, the thing is," Williams says while munching on Doritos. "If I'm in control of the whole offense it doesn't really matter what the playbook has to do with it. It's my skill level."

Minutes past midnight, another ring chimes from the door. Dressed in a sleeveless gray shirt, blue gym shorts and blue Yankees fitted hat, fellow Nittany Lion Ollie Ogbu asks out loud where the line ends.

Williams, already heading for the exit with his copy for the Xbox 360 in his bag, abruptly stops after overhearing Ogbu. The two begin jawing back and forth.

"I don't think he's good at all," Ogbu says about Williams' playing talents. "I think he's trash."

"What?" Williams asks, overhearing the smack talk fly.

"I'll play him any day, any time."

"You think I'm what?"

"I think you're trash."

Ogbu predicted a 40-2 blowout, feeding off of sacks and forced fumbles -- fitting for a defensive lineman.

Ogbu debuts in this year's version of the game at an 85 overall.

"I kinda got a peek at it," Ogbu said. "The first year you wanna see where they put you off the bat cause I played only one year."

Ogbu was anxious to get home and play. Williams said he was playing until 3 a.m. Ogbu usually plays as Penn State, sometimes mixing it up with some of the historic teams such as the 1995 Colorado Buffalos or 2000 Miami Hurricanes.

Danny Ulrich, the store manager, originally planned to just do an early 8 a.m. opening yesterday. But calls from the company asking Ulrich to do a midnight release prompted an automated calling system to inform all the customers who reserved a copy of the game of the early release party.

Another gamer, Robert Ksiazkiewicz reserved a copy, too. The recent Penn State grad has gotten the video game for the past 12 years. With his backpack strap slung across his shoulder, Ksiazkiewicz was unfazed by the presence of Williams.

Watching Williams on Saturdays in Beaver Stadium, Ksiazkiewicz thinks he has a much better shot at beating the senior wideout on the screen than on the gridiron.

For opposing quarterbacks, Beaver Stadium is considered one of the toughest venues to play. In the game, Beaver Stadium is ranked the No. 4 toughest place to play -- behind LSU, Florida and Big Ten rival Ohio State.

Williams and the Nittany Lions travel to Columbus, Ohio, in October for a primetime clash with the Buckeyes. But Williams said the two atmospheres cannot compare in real life.

"No stadium is better than Beaver Stadium," Williams said. "It's just beautiful. I hope every game there's all white-outs."

With the real-life starting quarterback situation still undecided between Daryll Clark and Pat Devlin, Williams -- dubbed an impact player in the video game for the third straight year -- had no preference on who he'd rather have throwing him the ball in the game, saying he'll use whoever is listed as the starter.

Clark is rated an 85 overall while Devlin is an 81.

Kasey Koontz (senior-accounting), a quarterbacks manager for the football team, sounded less hesitant on who his signal caller would be.

"Clark will be rated higher as more of a scrambler," Koontz said. "I mean, a lot of gamers like to run with their quarterbacks."

Ogbu was aware of all the new features this year's version offers. The quarterback rattle system feature -- which takes crowd noise and other elements of the game and incorporates that into the quarterback's play -- will determine whether he'll start Clark or Devlin.

"Whoever's playing well, I'll just go with them," Ogbu said. "I don't really have a preference."

Ogbu tends to bolster his roster with enhanced player ratings when he plays in dynasty mode -- where gamers play multiple seasons back-to-back and are responsible for recruiting, scheduling and meeting the standards of the program.

The lineman checked running back Stephfon Green's speed rating and thought the 94 was too low -- fellow running back Evan Royster is also listed at 94 speed. Ogbu said Green's 4.25 40-yard dash should make him a 97 in speed.

Both Ogbu and Williams said they prefer to the play realistically, not altering ratings or depth charts. But there's one guy who they'll play with who won't see the field this year.

"I'm keeping Sean [Lee]," Ogbu said of the injured Penn State linebacker. "He's not going nowhere."