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It wasn't a 100% satisfying victory over Notre Dame on saturday, but Penn State exacted its revenge on the "genius" Charlie Weis with a 31-10 win in front of a white-clad 110,000 at Beaver Stadium.  Many of us were hoping for a quick and decisive destruction of the Irish, but it was more of a slow death brought on by the mighty Nittany Lion defense. 

Heroes:

--The Penn State crowd.  I've been to countless games at Beaver Stadium.  I didn't think the atmosphere of the 2005 Ohio State game could be topped, but this one took the cake.  Walking into the stadium and seeing the crowd blanketed in white was very surreal.  Even the oldsters got into it. 

--Defense defense defense.  This is a very young, very fast, very tough Penn State defense, the likes of which i have not seen very often at Penn State.  There is talent at every position.  There is toughness and speed at every position.  Dan Connor is a downright stud, and should be in the running for the Butkus award this year, among others.  He and Sean Lee were hounding poor little Jimmy all night long.  The defensive line is very young, but the entire rotation is big and fast and made mincemeat of the weak ND offensive line.  Jerome Hayes made alleged superstar tackle Sam Young look fat and slow.  ND did not test the secondary too much, and that was probably a good idea.  I could go on and on about this defense.  They are so entertaining to watch.

--Special Teams.  Aside from Zbikowski's long punt return, kickoffs were good, returns were good, highlighted by Derrick Williams' fantastic punt return for a score that gave PSU the momentum back and brought the crowd back into the game.  AJ Wallace also had a great kickoff return. 

It's a bit silly to complain about a 3-TD win over Notre Dame (i know they're not so hot this year, but it's still Notre Dame), but here are the zeroes:

--Anthony Morelli.  Unfortunately, he is still making the same mistakes that he did last year.  Albeit they are fewer, but against Wisconsin and Ohio State and Michigan (yes Michigan, they still frighten me a bit), he simply cannot heave underthrown balls downfield to well-covered receivers.  He often thinks he's Michael Vick and can avoid the rush.  Sorry Ammo, you're not that quick.  When you make a couple of pumps and nobody's open, heave the ball into the 10th row, don't run around and lose ten yards and fumble the ball.  Against better teams he cannot give the other team opportunities.  On the other side of the coin, he did well in the red zone, and made a beautiful long throw to Chris Bell to get the offense inside the ten. 

--Offensive Line.  Thank god for the defense causing a lot of 3-and-outs, and never giving the ND defense a chance to rest.  Otherwise, i'm not sure if PSU could have run the ball at all.  For the 2nd straight game, the running game was inept until the O-line got a chance to maul a tired defense in the 2nd half.  Pass protection was spotty on the whole.  These guys really need to step it up if a big ten title run is to be made. 

This week is another gimme, at home against mighty Buffalo.  It is time to get the kinks worked out because the biggest game of the season looms ahead.  Say what you will about Michigan this year, no Henne, no defense, etc.  But when you've lost 8 straight, it's hard to feel confident.  A wounded Wolverine is a scary animal.  They have nothing else to play for but the big ten, and to keep this win streak alive.  If PSU beats Michigan, this could be a magical season.