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By JERRY KELLAR; Times Leader Sports Writer
Monday, September 05, 1994     Page: 1B

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — About the only problem Penn State encountered during
ts 1994 season-opening weekend in Minnesota was a stalled elevator at the
team’s hotel on Sunday morning.
   
Other than that minor inconvenience for a few players, things went rather
smoothly for the Nittany Lions, who rolled over the University of Minnesota,
56-3, Saturday night in the Metrodome.
    “The only good things is,” a shellshocked Gopher coach Jim Wacker said
afterward, “no one died.
   
“It was ugly. I give Penn State a lot of credit. They’re a great football
team and they came out and did everything about as well as you can do it.”
   
That pretty much said it.
   
The Lions’ offense certainly lived up to their lofty preseason billings,
unleashing an impressive array of weapons on the seemingly helpless Gophers.
   
Leading the assault was tailback Ki-Jana Carter, who rushed for a 181 yards
in the first half alone and scored three touchdowns on runs of 2, 80 and 62
yards. Carter finished the game with 210 on 20 carries, an average of more
than 10 yards per pop.
   
“Ki-Jana Carter is obviously as fine a back as there is in the country,”
Wacker said. “If there’s a better one, I don’t want to see him.”
   
“Carter’s a heck of a back,” Penn State coach Joe Paterno offered. “But
there were a lot of people that played well.”
   
Starting with quarterback Kerry Collins.
   
The often-maligned fifth-year senior enjoyed perhaps his finest day in a
Penn State uniform, completing 19 of 23 passes for 260 yards and three TDs. So
good was Collins on this night that he set a school record for consecutive
completions with 14, breaking the old of 12 held by Bill Smaltz in a 1940 game
at Syracuse.
   
Collins’ favorite target Saturday night was flanker Freddie Scott, who
hauled in seven passes for 133 yards, including a pretty over the shoulder
grab for a 26-yard score in the second quarter.
   
If Scott emerges as a go-to guy in State’s offense, there’s no telling how
explosive this unit can be. After all, the Lions already boast two of the
country’s premier receivers in wide out Bobby Engram (5 catches, 73 yards, TD)
and massive tight end Kyle Brady (4 catches, 30 yards).
   
Throw those three receivers in the mix with Carter and Collins, a veteran
offensive line, along with a supporting cast that includes backs Mike Archie
and Jon Witman and receivers Phil Collins, Chris Campbell and Keith Olsommer,
and you can see why 1994 has the potential to be a record-breaking season for
the guys in Blue and White.
   
“Everybody’s been pumping up our offense the whole year,” Carter said. “And
we do have a lot of offensive weapons when you think about it. They (the
Gophers) tried to stop the run and we got ’em with the pass. Then when they
softened up, our offensive line and backs started running the ball.
   
“I think if we have the mental frame of mind that we’re going to be better
every week, it’s going to be pretty hard to stop our offense.”
   
Of course, Carter and company will need help from their defensive friends.
   
They got it on Saturday.
   
The Lions more than contained Minnesota’s vaunted offense, they shut it
down.
   
Paced by linebackers Willie Smith (12 tackles) and Terry Killens (8 stops,
sack, fumble recovery), Penn State limited UM to 247 yards of total offense.
   
The defense, however, benefitted immensely from the early offensive flurry,
which took the Gophers out of their gameplan.
   
That fact wasn’t lost on Paterno.
   
“We had no adversity. Everything went our way,” he said.
   
The coach then offered a warning: “Don’t get carried away with that one.
We’ve got a long way to go.”