Sports

Final Score: (7) Penn State 34, Indiana 7

University Park, PA (Sports Network) - Derrick Williams ran for 61 yards with a touchdown and added 62 yards receiving with another score, as No. 7 Penn State pulled away for a 34-7 victory over Indiana on a dreary afternoon at Beaver Stadium.

Daryll Clark completed 20-of-36 passes for 240 yards with two touchdowns and one interception for the Nittany Lions (10-1, 6-1 Big Ten), who are one victory away from at least a share of the conference crown and a BCS bowl berth. The Nittany Lions lost a chance at a national title after falling at Iowa, 24-23, last Saturday.

"We just came to play. That Iowa game is behind us. We still have a game in front of us and a tough game against Michigan State," said Williams.

Evan Royster carried the football 12 times for 63 yards and Clark added 26 yards on the ground. Deon Butler passed Bobby Engram for the most catches in school history as part of a five-catch, 56-yard, one-touchdown performance. The reliable hands of Jordan Norwood pulled in a team-best seven passes for 69 yards in the victory, Penn State's 12th straight in the series.

Kellen Lewis was on the run most of the afternoon, passing for just 57 yards on 9-of-21 passing for the Hoosiers (3-8, 1-6). Ironically enough, Indiana's biggest play of the day -- a 57-yard touchdown run by Marcus Thigpen -- equaled Lewis' game-long passing yardage.

Thigpen ran for 72 yards overall in Indiana's third straight setback.

"They are really good up front. Physically they are big, strong, fast, and well coached," Hoosiers head coach Bill Lynch said about the Penn State defense. "They always have big linebackers and their secondary is solid."

A sloppy first 15 minutes included a new record and back-to-back turnovers deep in Indiana territory. Butler broke the career receptions mark early in the period, and Lewis' pass to the sideline was picked off by Mark Rubin at the Hoosiers seven-yard line late in the quarter. However, on the first play after the miscue, Clark was stripped at the two-yard line on a quarterback draw, giving Indiana the football right back.

The Hoosiers played it safe and punted the football back to the Nittany Lions, who took advantage with the big-play ability of Williams. Off a play-action fake, Clark lofted a deep post pass to Williams, who concentrated to catch a football partially obscured by a lunging safety and walked into the end zone for a 39-yard score.

Indiana responded with a pair of long runs by its two best athletes. Lewis slipped to the outside for 19 yards then provided the convoy for Thigpen, who took an inside handoff and bounced out of a bottleneck and down the right sideline 57 yards to paydirt.

After Penn State's Nick Stupar blocked a punt late in the half, Kevin Kelly, who missed wide right from 40 yards earlier, connected from 32 yards away for a 10-7 advantage.

The Nittany Lions awoke from their Iowa hangover in the third quarter. Clark methodically moved the offense down the field, plodding along with a six-yard pass to Williams followed by a 12-yard sprint from the wideout. The signal- caller whistled an 18-yard toss to a wide-open Mickey Shuler, and after an incomplete pass, Royster ran off left guard, broke a tackle around the legs, and lunged into the end zone for a 19-yard score.

A 17-yard third-down catch by Norwood stood out in Penn State's next drive, which ended in Kelly's 36-yard field goal. The Nittany Lions continued to pile it on after another Indiana punt mishap. The punter took a wide snap and tucked the ball under, as PSU took over at the Hoosiers 29-yard line.

The touchdown march was capped by Clark's seven-yard slant to Butler for the 27-7 lead with 2:31 left in the third. Williams' 36-yard touchdown jaunt, bobbing and weaving in and out before finally sprinting down the right sideline, increased the edge to 34-7 in the fourth quarter.

Game Notes

Penn State ran up 442 total yards to just 180 for the Hoosiers...The dominance also stood out in the first-down department, as the Nittany Lions moved the chains 23 times, while the Hoosiers mustered just six first downs...Penn State converted 8-of-16 third-down chances.