Penn State turns back South Florida in opener

Big plays on defense and Tony Hunt's running helped the Nittany Lions.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- Penn State's new-look offense looked good early. Real good.
Then it struggled after the first quarter. Boos came down from the crowd at times. A few fans even called for a quarterback change.
Luckily, for Joe Paterno, his defense came up with enough big plays and Tony Hunt rushed for a touchdown and a career-high 140 yards, including a key fourth quarter-run, as Penn State defeated South Florida, 23-13 on Saturday.
"It's going to take them a while to do certain things," said Paterno, who won the first game of his 40th season as head coach. "Obviously, we weren't consistent in the passing game, but that will come."
Hunt scored on a 1-yard touchdown plunge early in the second quarter to give the Nittany Lions (1-0) a 17-0 lead. He added a 70-yard run midway through the fourth quarter that set up a 4-yard touchdown run by quarterback Michael Robinson to help seal the win.
"I think big plays are a big thing because we kind of lacked that last year. I thought we put together some good drives," Hunt said.
"We weren't very consistent, but that's going to come," he added. "First game in, you don't expect to be perfect."
Bulls moved ball well
Johnny Peyton had two touchdown catches from Pat Julmiste for the Bulls (0-1), including a 4-yard score late in the fourth quarter. The Bulls were able to move the ball well at times against Penn State's defense, which returned nine starters from a unit that allowed just 15 points a game last season.
Penn State dominated early on. With his team up 3-0, Alan Zemaitis returned a fumble 16 yards for a score after South Florida starting quarterback Courtney Denson was hit in the backfield by Tim Shaw.
Zemaitis scooped up the loose ball and ran untouched into the end zone, holding the ball over his head as he crossed the goal line to give Penn State a 10-0 lead. Teammates mobbed Zemaitis in the left corner of the end zone as fans clad in blue and white cheered on the warm, sunny afternoon.
Later, Chris Harrell intercepted a pass from Julmiste, who relieved Denson deep in South Florida territory after Julmiste was pressured by Tamba Hali. Hunt scored his touchdown three plays later.
"They got two big turnovers, kept us in check; we didn't get a lot of long plays on them," South Florida coach Jim Leavitt said. "We had little spurts but we couldn't gain any consistency against their defense.
Toyed with formations
Hoping to open up an offense that sputtered last season, Paterno toyed in practice with different formations, including multiple-receiver sets, to stretch defenses.
The new looks paid off early and excited the Beaver Stadium crowd.
Freshman Justin King, one of Paterno's star recruits in the off-season, had a 61-yard run off a reverse after Penn State lined up in a two-back, two-wideout formation. King eluded several tacklers, then found a hole and darted down the left sideline before pulled down from behind.
The offense, buoyed by new speed gained in the off-season by the additions of King and fellow freshman Derrick Williams, struggled after that, however.
"For freshmen, they did well, but they didn't dominate," Paterno said.
Robinson fumbled on an option pitch to Williams to stall one drive and another one ended with an interception.
Bulls finally score
Stymied by Penn State's defense early, South Florida finally scored late in the second quarter after getting the ball back following an interception by Trae Williams.
On third-and-goal from the Penn State 8-yard line, South Florida lined up for a field goal but then called a timeout. The Bulls returned to the field with the offense as the crowd implored the defense to come up with a stop.
It didn't happen. Julmiste threw a high touch pass to the left side of the end zone to the 6-foot-5 Peyton. Peyton jumped high for the ball, beating the 6-foot King, who also played cornerback, to cut Penn State's lead to 17-7.
Peyton scored on a similar play in the fourth quarter.