Good morning from Beaver Stadium. It's about an hour until kickoff and Penn State and Florida International just headed back to the locker rooms after warming up for a little bit.

There's not a cloud in the sky right now, and I was actually able to see the moon when I began the walk from my downtown apartment to the stadium. The student section is barely filled. Freshman/sophomore division has the early lead.

Also seen and heard on the way to the game:
* In the parking lot outside Holuba Hall, Derrick Williams' mom, Brinda, sporting a blue Penn State jersey with a white No. 2 and "Mom" on the back.

* A small but loud group of fans chanting not-so-nice things about Ohio State.

That's all for now, I'm going to head down to the field for a little while to check out the teams when they come out to warm up again. We'll be back around kickoff.

11:42 a.m.

Back up from the field. Here's some more pregame notes:
* Tight end Andrew Quarless was dressed in uniform, complete with ankle braces. Joe Paterno previously said he will not play this week. We'll see.
* Joe Dolan, one of our editors, muffed a punt that went astray on the sideline. It bounced into Derrick Williams' hands.
* Paterno did make it out to the field, right pant leg rolled up slightly higher than his left.
* PSU students chanted "Please don't fight us!" at FIU. I have a feeling the Golden Panthers are going to get that one all year.

12:05 p.m. - Kickoff

Student section attendance was looking pretty grim a few minutes ago. Now its about 2/3rd's full as the game begins. Rest of the stadium is pretty much filled up.

FIU won the toss and will get the ball first.

FIU's starting QB is Wayne Younger. PSU defense held the Golden Panthers to a three and out. Derrick Williams returned a punt to the FIU 44. 13:14 left, first quarter.

First PSU offensive play: Anthony Morelli swing pass to the right to Williams out of the backfield for a gain of three. Second play: Morelli hands off right side to Williams, loss of two yards. Third play: Morelli airs it out to Butler all the way down to the FIU six yard line. First and goal.

Austin Scott's first run of the season gains one yard. His second gains nothing. 3rd and goal. Morelli play action pass to a wide open Terrell Golden in the back left corner of the end zone. Quarless did not play. Mickey Shuler started in his place. PSU - 7, FIU - 0, 10:35 left, first quarter.

FIU's Singleton fumbled the kickoff return. PSU ball on the FIU 36. They go three and out, ending with an ugly screen pass attempt. Which makes me note, Rich Ohrnberger is starting at left guard, not Lou Eliades, who was listed as the starter on the depth chart earlier in the week.

New punter Jeremy Boone, trying to fill the shoes of Jeremy Kapinos, boots the punt into the end zone. PSU - 7, FIU - 0, 9:28 left in the first.

We got a break in the game here. I'm wondering how many people, if any, are reading this, so if you are, send me an email with a comment or something at cpm167@psu.edu so I know someone's out there.

FIU fumbles on third down. Linebacker Dan Connor recovers to put PSU offense on FIU 20. Another fumble, this time on a hand-off attempt by PSU, recovered by FB Matt Hahn. "Must be raining out there," someone in the press box just said.

Time out PSU, 8:36 left, first quarter.

3rd and seven pass from Morelli to Shuler for a 17 yard touchdown. It was his first career reception. Quarless who? PSU - 14, FIU - 0, 7:48 left first quarter.

FIU starts on their own 36 after the kickoff. On 2nd down, FIU QB Younger nearly escaped from the entire PSU defense. NOTE: A new and more viscous Lion growl noise over the PA system. Another punt for FIU, PSU ball on its own 20 after a Williams fair catch. 6:15 left, first quarter.

PSU passing game is certainly looking better than the run at this point. Don't know if its the new O-line getting to play in a game for the first time or what. PSU punt by Boone, a 53-yarder. FIU ball at its 24. 4:34 left, first quarter.

Another fumble by FIU. Younger is a redshirt freshman QB, and its showing. But just like that, he tosses a pass for FIU's first, first down. Oh wait, another fumble. Sean Lee just ripped the ball out of Younger's hands on a run. Recovered by Phil Taylor for PSU. NOTE: First Zombie Nation of the year. 3:00 left, first quarter.

After PSU offense stalls, Kevin Kelly is out to attempt a 51-yard field goal. Boone holding. It's a miss, wide right. FIU ball on its 34. They go three and out. This is a long first quarter. 1:23 left.

Morelli nice slant to Williams out to the FIU 45, gain of 14 on first down. Rodney Kinlaw fumbles -- ANOTHER ONE -- this must be some kind of record. FIU ball the PSU 49 as the first quarter ends. This is Corey, I'm going to turn the second quarter over to Kevin. I'll be back for the third.
End of first quarter, PSU - 14, FIU - 0

Thanks, Corey. FIU starts out the second quarter with the ball at midfield. Younger gets a wake up call, sacked by Maurice Evans, losing six yards on the play. On 3rd down, Jerome Hayes runs down Younger for a sack, forcing FIU back four yards and into a punting situation.

PSU ball, 13:35 to go.

Penn State starts out at their own 22, let's see what they can do in the second quarter. A.Q Shipley has a chat with the ref before the first play begins. Golden barely misses a pass in double coverage.

The Penn State student section finally seems to have filled up, just in time for Penn State to go three-and-out on their first drive of the second quarter.

A Jeremy Boone punt results in a personal foul penalty assessed to the Lions. FIU will begin at their own 42.

12:07

Sean Lee makes the first two tackles of FIU's drive. Before the third play can begin, FIU gets called for delay of game, pushing them back to 3rd and 16. Younger swings a screen pass out to Frierson for an 11-yard gain, but it's not enough to come up with the first down.

9:57

The public address announcer tells the crowd that Michigan is losing to Appalachian State, 21-14. The crowd loves it. We'll see if that lead lasts.

Penn State takes over at the 14. Scott takes it five yards. Mickey Shuler then makes his second catch of the game, 13 yards for a first down.

With 8:14 to go, Morelli connects with a wide-open Norwood for a gain of 29 yards.

Penn State's in the red zone now -- until Morelli sustains a sack from Newman for a loss of 8. Kevin Kelly will try his second field goal of the game, and makes the 45 yarder.

With 6:41 to play in the first half, Penn State leads, 17-0

The Nittany Lion decides to show how well his off-season workouts have been by busting out 18 one-armed pushups before Kevin Kelly's kickoff.

Singleton takes it out to FIU's 20.
Reams catches Youngers' pass and starts to run but is bulldozed by Navarro Bowman. Sean Lee breaks through to sack Youngers on the very next play.

Youngers can't catch a break. He's not getting any time to throw the ball and his receivers aren't able to get free of Penn State's secondary. FIU's forced to punt.

4:58

SEVENTH fumble of the game, this time by Jordan Norwood. He makes up for it on the next play, catching a pass over the middle for a gain of 29 yards. First and 10 on the FIU 14. Despite being shadowed by Singleton, Butler pulls in a 13-yard pass to give Penn State a first and goal. Austin Scott dives over a cluster of PSU and FIU players and into the end zone, Kevin Kelly's point after makes it 24-0.

2:39

The PA announcer once again gives some Big Ten scores. He mentions Ohio State and Northwestern's respective games -- both teams are winning. He gets to Michigan, which is still losing to Appalachian State, 21-14. Beaver Stadium's crowd digs it.

Owens comes up with a short pass from Youngers for a 13-yard gain before he's stopped by Scirrotto. FIU's moving now, with the clock ticking toward the end of the first half. Second down and two on the PSU 35.

Younger has an open receiver over the middle -- Owens -- but it goes through his hands. No matter. There's a flag for a personal foul on Penn State, moving FIU up to the PSU 20.

Youngers is in the shotgun, and drops back before getting paved by Dan Connor for a loss of 14 yards.They're forced to call a timeout with 1:03 to go in the half.

A few states to our west, Michigan's woes continue. The PA announcer tells us that Appalachian State is leading, 28-14. Mark thinks an Appalachian State win could turn the college football world upside down.

FIU finally cracks the red zone, but they're forced to try a field goal. It's blocked by Jared Odrick. The stadium starts shaking, as Zombie Nation blasts the airwaves for the second time of the young 2007 season.

0:46

Looks like PSU's going to try to take advantage of these last couple seconds. He takes a shot at Chris Bell that's incomplete. 41 seconds to go, Penn State has the ball on the 18. Kinlaw pulls away for a 16-yard run, and the clock continues to tick.

Morelli hits Norwood by the sideline for a gain of 23. From the shotgun, Morelli decides to make a run for it, going up the middle for five yards. They call their final timeout with five seconds to play.

With the ball on Penn State's 39, Morelli hits Shuler over the middle, but the clock expires. That's it for the first half. I'll be handing it off to Corey for the third quarter, but I'll see y'all again in the fourth.

The Footblog Halftime Report sponsored by no one.
Corey here again, Thanks to those of you who sent emails, even those who are in the press box with us. Keep 'em coming.

Here's the lowdown at halftime: Morelli had 231 passing yards in the first half, breaking a 10-year old school record for yards in a half (219) held by Mike McQueary. Morelli started and ended the half really well, connecting on a few nice passes to Jordan Norwood along the way. The defense has been dominating too, not letting the FIU offense into the red zone until the last minute of the first half. We'll be back for the third quarter in about 10 minutes. Lee had seven tackles and one sack.

Some fans might be interested in this score. App State - 28, Michigan - 17 at halftime.
From the Michigan Daily's live blog: "Michigan's defense can't handle a mobile quarterback, and the boo-birds are out and loud. The Mountaineers lead 28-17 and get the ball to begin the second half. To say this has gotten interesting is an understatement -- a loss is certainly not out of the question."

2nd half
Penn State starts on its own 20. Morelli two incomplete passes and PSU punts to Singleton (who apparently is FIU's entire team). Singleton then fumbles recovered by Navorro Bowman. PSU ball on the FIU 25. Oh wait, play is being reviewed. Play stands.

Morelli nice swing pass right to Norwood. 1st and goal at the 8 for PSU. Scott then has, to me, his first nice run of the day, an 8-yard TD run. He made one cut and headed to the end zone. PSU-31, FIU-0, 12:14 left third quarter

FIU with the ball on its 17 after the kickoff. They pick up a first down on third down, and haven't given up yet. PSU hasn't either, the defensive starters are still in. FIU can't convert on its second third down of the drive, and barely gets the punt off to Anthony Scirrotto. FIU was within the "halo" zone and gets a 15 yard penalty. PSU ball at its 40. 10:31 left in the third

Scott starts the drive with a 20-yard run. His last two runs covered more ground then he did in the first half. PSU now 3rd and 7 on the FIU 37. Morelli screen pass to Kinlaw way down to the FIU 15. Kinlaw follows that up with a 15 yard TD run. The earliest of early leavers from the student section are heading to the exits. PSU - 38, FIU - 0, 9:22 left, third quarter.

FIU begins on its own 30. Starting defensive backs and linebackers are still in. Chris Baker's in for Ollie Ogbu on the defensive line. Time out FIU on 3rd down, still on the 30. They don't convert and punt, this time to Williams, who takes it back a few yards stopping at the PSU 39. 8:51 left in the third

Morelli sacked for just the second time today. It's now 3rd and 24. Morelli dumps off to Kinlaw, PSU will punt. The pace of the game has slowed considerably. Boone with a beauty, no return, FIU first down on its 12. Colt Anderson in for QB for FIU. 6:27 left, third quarter.

PSU Defensive line's getting some good pressure, and FIU punts again, partially blocked by Bowman. I would think he's not too happy about not being the 3rd starting linebacker. He's been a special teams standout today, forcing a fumble earlier. Next play, Kinlaw 28-yard run down to the FIU one yard line. Two plays later, Morelli hits Matt Hahn for a play action touchdown pass. PSU - 45, FIU - 0, 4:34 third quarter.

We just got another email in from a reader. Glad we can provide some play-by-play for you seeing as the Big Ten Network and Comcast have yet to come to a carriage agreement. Keep the messages coming today and send any other questions or comments you have during the week to footblog@psu.edu. We'll answer them in a mailbag sometime this week.

FIU just went offsides. "Prior to the snap, the entire line moved," the referee announced to the stadium. 2nd and 19 for FIU on its 13. Its not looking like FIU's going to score until PSU lets some if its backup defensive players on the field. Williams with a nice punt return into FIU territory. PSU ball at the FIU 37. Looks like Morelli's done for the day. Daryll Clark in at QB, hands off to backup running back Evan Royster for no gain. Clark completes his first pass to Graham Zug. Royster is in the end zone after two consecutive runs, the last a 13-yarder. Colin Wagner, in for Kelly, knocks the point after through. PSU - 51, FIU - 0, 0:04 left in the third.

All right, that's all for me for game blogging. Kevin will be handling the fourth quarter until about five minutes left, when we're going to head down to field level to talk to the coaches and players post game.

Fourth Quarter
Thanks, Corey. Penn State will begin their drive at the FIU 16 after Penn State recovered a botched FIU punt return. With a break in between quarters, we get another Big Ten update, only to find out that Michigan is beginning to close in on Appalachian State, now trailing only 31-26 in the fourth quarter.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Penn State tacks on another TD, this time by Dan Lawlor.

The Lions' lead is up to 59-0 with 14:55 to play.

FIU begins their first drive of the final quarter. Julian Reams gets the ball. He's been one of the bright spots for FIU on a dismal day.

After receiving FIU's punt, Penn State begins their drive deep in their own territory. On 3rd and 7, Clark rolls out and completes a pass to James McDonald for a gain of 10 yards and a first down.

Royster is getting a good chance here to show what he can do. He makes an 11-yard run up the middle to give Penn State another first down. Two plays later, he gets another carry -- this time for eight yards.

Pat Devlin is now in at quarterback as Penn State approaches midfield.

We're going to head down to the field now. Stay tuned for an update by Mark Viera after the game.

4:30 p.m. - Final score: PSU - 59, FIU - 0

Well, we're back up in the press box watching the grounds crew groom the field. Mood in post game was pretty light. Funny occurrences at the end of the game with the App State - Michigan game ending as players headed to the locker room and Paterno walked into the press room. Several players were definitely interested in what was going on. Morelli's head snapped to attention with the reaction of the crowds watching the Michigan game on televisions near the South end zone tunnel. Chris Bell almost ran me over to check the score.

Welp, check out the web updates and thanks for those who read along. Don't forget to send emails or questions to our mailbag. The paper edition is off until Tuesday, but check back here often. You never know what we're going to have.