The Beaver Stadium crowd erupted as Evan Royster crossed the goal line early in the first quarter against Oregon State.

But instead of cheering for Royster, those cheers should have been directed at a pair of other skill players.

The key to Penn State's opening touchdown run against Oregon State wasn't exactly Royster.

It wasn't the gaping holes opened by the offensive line, either.

No, the play was made by two of the lightest guys on the field who manhandled their defenders like tackling dummies.

On that 15-yard run, Nittany Lion wide receivers Derrick Williams and Brett Brackett took out the Beavers' safeties, clearing a path to the endzone.

Head coach Joe Paterno said that downfield blocking is what can turn an average ground game into an explosive weapon.

"People don't appreciate how effective those open spots can make your running game go," Paterno said. "Those wideouts we have are really good football players. Every play they play all out. They hustle. When somebody else catches a football, they hustle to make a block for them that way."

But the receivers' blocking ability shone on more than just Royster's first scoring run.

The Lions had nine runs for more than 10 yards on the day, accounting for almost a quarter of their rushing plays.

That downfield success is a testament to the receivers.

Instead of taking plays off, the pass-catchers attack the secondary with recklessness and latch onto whatever defenders cross their paths.

Williams said he and his receiving mates take pride in blocking, especially when they see a Penn State back racing past them down the sideline.

"[Receivers coach] Mike McQueary does a great job of hounding us about blocking. We have to be great blockers because it's going to come down to our blocks that spring the play," Williams said.

"The faster guys on defense are at the DB position. Once our running back hits the hole, the only people that can pretty much catch them are the secondary and we have to do our job making sure that our running backs can have that space to try to break a long run."

But just because they're able to block safeties and corners doesn't mean the receivers are ready to jump in the trenches and get down in a three-point stance on the line.

Left tackle Gerald Cadogan couldn't help but laugh when asked if he could see the receivers filling in on the line.

But if they want to switch, he said he'd love to try his hand at route running.

"You could put Jordan Norwood at left tackle if I could be a slot receiver," Cadogan said with a laugh.

But don't think for a second that Royster wants his blockers switching places.

He said he likes them just where they are, with the linemen opening holes and the receivers opening the second level.

He said he feels lucky to be running behind such a committed group of blockers and can't thank the receivers enough for allowing him to break off so many big runs.

"They really sell out and go 100 percent even when they're not getting the ball," Royster said. "It really shows a lot of character. You'll see some players take a play off when they know they're not gonna get it, but our receivers don't do that and our team doesn't do that."