Winning three straight non-conference games to open the season was one thing. Beating Northwestern on the road was another. But obliterating an undefeated Minnesota team 44-14 and shutting down their vaunted running game while discovering a ground attack of their own is a completely different matter.

The Nittany Lions, who suffered four losing seasons in the previous five years, may be on the verge of playing themselves into Big Ten contention.

The mystery, if there is one, will not last much longer. Penn State hosts Ohio State and then travels to Michigan.

The speed of WRs Derrick Williams, Justin King and Deon Butler gets most of the attention for the Penn State offense, but against the Gophers the running attack came to life for the first time since Larry Johnson was running wild for the Nittany Lions in 2002.

Tony Hunt carried 21 times for 114 yards and scored two touchdowns, while QB Michael Robinson added 112 more.

"I believe before this game, we knew what we were capable of doing," Hunt said. "But this time, we came out and did it. Just knowing and believing, it's a good feeling to get it done. We came out and ran the ball on them all game. We controlled the football on a team whose biggest strength is controlling the football. We took over, and I think that threw their whole game plan off."

While Penn State was running the ball, they prevented Laurence Maroney from shaking loose for the Gophers. Maroney, a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate and the leading rusher in the nation coming into the game, was held to 48 yards on 16 carries. Not only did the Nittany Lions get a couple of good hits on him on nearly every carry, the defense never got tired chasing him around because the Penn State offense controlled the ball for 35:18.

"I think the key to the game was that we weren't on the field for as many plays as I thought we would be," defensive coordinator Tom Bradley said.

While Robinson had a difficult time throwing consistently -- he was just 13-of-32 for 175 yards -- he did hit Butler six times for 83 yards and Williams had six rushes for 40 yards and got into the end zone twice.

There will be no intimidation when Ohio State comes into Beaver Stadium this week. If Penn State wants to remain undefeated, it will take flawless execution and significant improvement in Robinson's passing accuracy.

GAME BALL GOES TO: RB Tony Hunt -- He has been a decent runner for the Nittany Lions the last two years, but had not done anything very special. However, by running for 114 yards and two touchdowns against Minnesota, Hunt served notice that he is ready to become a go-to guy for Penn State's offense.

KEEP AN EYE ON: LB Calvin Lowry -- He was one of the most active tacklers on the field for the Nittany Lions. He was all over RB Laurence Maroney and finished the game with a team-high nine tackles.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "I told them that this may be the greatest running team in the history of college football, but not today. Today we're the best defense in the country." -- Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Bradley on how he got his defense prepared to play an upper-echelon offensive team like Minnesota.

LOOKING GOOD: The offense continues to make strides -- and the team could turn out to be much better than originally thought. In addition to the big-play ability of WRs Derrick Williams, Justin King and Deon Butler, the Nittany Lions added the versatility that comes with a running game. By running for 364 yards, they controlled the clock and put Minnesota in an insurmountable hole that they were unable to climb out of.

-- RB Michael Robinson did not have a great passing day, but still managed to throw for 175 yards and keep the Gophers off balance. Robinson also ran for 112 yards and played an aggressive game.

-- WR Derrick Williams scored two touchdowns on running plays and showed amazing quickness. He made the Minnesota defenders look like they were standing still on his 13-yard scoring run in the first quarter.

-- RB Austin Scott did a nice job backing up Tony Hunt in the running game. He carried nine times for 52 yards and gave the Nittany Lions some decent options when Hunt needed a break.

-- DT Jay Alford was very tough in the middle of the defense with three tackles, a TFL and a forced fumble.

STILL NEEDS SOME WORK: Just about everything went right for Penn State against Minnesota and the Nittany Lions will take an undefeated record into their matchup this week against powerful Ohio State. However, that's not good enough. They have to play another nearly perfect game if they are going to compete with Ohio State for 60 minutes.

ROSTER REPORT: Neither linebacker Dan Connor nor center E.Z. Smith started against Minnesota, but both played. ... Back-up quarterback Anthony Morelli appeared in the game but did not throw a pass. ... Freshman kicker Kevin Kelly converted three of his four field-goal tries, missing only from 51 yards.