Daryll Clark took the shotgun snap and turned on his heels.
This was it. Clark's first designed quarterback run of the season.
Clark could sense the open field as he bolted around the right side of the Oregon State defense. He could also sense the excitement of 108,000 fans as he ran 24 yards deep into Beaver territory. When he sensed trouble, he ducked out of bounds.
"Oh yeah. You heard it," Clark said about the crowd's excitement. "I got past the first level and seen a lot of green grass and said, 'OK, run downfield, make a move here and there and just get down to the point where a bunch of guys are there to make a tackle and get down. You don't need to win the game on one play.' "
Four plays later, Clark hung a pass high in the air intended for tight end Mickey Shuler. A Beaver defender was in good position, but the ball arced out of the sky, just out of his reach and fell perfectly into Shuler's hands for the touchdown.
Now, the keys to the Penn State offense belong to Clark.
Against Coastal Carolina, Clark simply tossed the ball around at will from the pocket, but on Saturday, Oregon State's defense forced the issue. Clark had to run at times and make plays with his feet. He had to throw the ball from the pocket and outside of it when it broke down.
Clark's mobility was on full display for much of the afternoon. He sidestepped defenders in the pocket on his way to completing 14 of 23 passes for 215 yards -- both career highs -- and two touchdowns.
Clark added another touchdown when he ran 18 yards to the end zone. On the run, Clark broke two tackles and then carried three Beavers into the end zone with him.
After the game, Clark said he got a little banged up on the run, but it felt good.
"I took a helmet pretty good to the forearm and someone landed on my neck awkward," Clark said. "But I'm OK, nothing some ice can't fix."
Penn State's offensive line gave Clark ample time to throw the ball and did not give up a sack all afternoon. Clark did take a few shots,
however, when he stayed in the pocket until the last minute to throw the ball.
The game plan was to expose Oregon State's aggressive secondary.
"This was a team, Oregon State, that runs press coverage," Clark said. "They were a pretty bold secondary. We saw on film they would get beat deep, and the very next play they're back in the wideouts' faces. They wouldn't back off at all. We did what we could to try and take advantage of it."
Clark completed 11 passes of more than 10 yards and five passes that went for more than 20 yards.
Oregon State cornerback Brandon Hughes, who made two tackles against the Nittany Lions, laughed when asked about Clark's mobility.
"He was a big body, and all we had to do was hit him," Hughes said. "But we faced a lot more mobile quarterbacks than that. Not taking away from the way he played today, but if we would've came out and sticked to our game plan and tackled, it probably would've been a different outcome."
Penn State offensive coordinator Galen Hall fielded questions about Clark after the game. Many of them addressed the same topic -- Penn State's current offense to this point has been reminiscint of the 2005 squad when Michael Robinson was at the helm.
Hall said Clark's performance against the Beavers reminded him of Robinson, but said Clark will need more games to get to the level at which Robinson played in 2005.
"It's too early to say Daryll Clark will play as well as Mike Robinson," Hall said. "I think Daryll is a very, very capable player and has done everything we've asked. I don't think you could say he's up to Mike's status right now. Every week he will become a very, very good quarterback for us."
