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STATE COLLEGE, Pennsylvania (Ticker) -- No. 2 Penn State avoided the need for late-game heroics, receiving a career day from quarterback Rashard Casey in a 45-24 pounding of Indiana in the Big Ten Conference opener for both schools. Casey set career highs for pass attempts, completions, yardage and touchdowns and the Nittany Lions (5-0, 1-0 Big Ten) overcame a sloppy first half to beat the Hoosiers (1-3, 0-1) for the fifth time in as many all-time meetings. Kevin Thompson started but Casey starred. The junior completed 13-of-15 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns and carried eight times for 66 yards and a score. Thompson was 7-of-12 for 86 yards. "You've got to be ready to go in," Casey said of the quarterback rotation. "It's hard sometimes when you're in a rhythm." "Casey did play extremely well," Penn State coach Joe Paterno said. "He made some things happen, he is that kind of player. I think Casey obviously played a strong game." A 37-yard interception return for a touchdown by safety Askari Adams and Bruce Branch's 90-yard punt return for a score early in the thid quarter allowed Penn State to remain on top until Casey took over. He scored on a 31-yard run and threw TD passes of 20 and nine yards in a 16 1/2-minute span of the second half. "Our goal every week is to win two out of three -- offense, defense and special teams," Adams said. "We know we're going to win special teams." Penn State was coming off narrow victories over Pittsburgh and then-No. 9 Miami and struggled through the first half, leading only 17-10 at the break. Much of Penn State's first-half struggles were wiped out less than three minutes into the third quarter. Branch field Drew Hagan's punt on the right hashmarks and first raced left before bolting up the field untouched to the end zone. After neither team was able to score on its next possession, Penn State needed just one play to make it 31-10. After a muffed punt gave the Nittany Lions control at the Indiana 31-yard line, Casey dropped back to pass before taking off on a wild scoring scamper that seemed to cover 60 yards. "When Rashard comes out of the pocket, he's amazing," Penn State wide receiver Chafie Fields said. He's like a wide receiver." Antwaan Randle El tried to bring back Indiana, hooking up with Jerry Dorsey on a 34-yard TD strike. But Casey hit running back Eric McCoo for a 20-yard score that gave Penn State a 38-17 advantage after three quarters. Dorsey had three catches for 68 yards for Indiana, which yielded 489 yards. "They made our defense look pretty bad," Penn State linebacker Brandon Short said. "I'm frustrated, we realize the litte things lose championships. We played terrible, but when I look at the footage, I'm sure it won't be as bad as I thought." The versatile Randle El was 11-of-21 for 204 yards and again cut into the deficit by finding Versie Gaddis for a 27-yard TD. But with 6:18 to play, Casey avoided a rush and hit Sam Crenshaw in the left front corner of the end zone for the game's final score. "I saw Sam coming across the back of the end zone and I hoped he would come across and get it," Casey said. Randle El also was Indiana's leading rusher, carrying 17 times for 67 yards and a second-quarter score that brought Indiana within 14-10. Travis Forney's 26-yard field goal with a little over three minutes left in the half provided the Lions with a touchdown advantage. "They played well (defensively)," Randle El said. "They had some holes in the defense that we knew we could get after, we just didn't get after them right away. I think if we could have got at them earlier it would have been a different game." Larry Johnson led Penn State with 73 yards on 10 carries. Tony Stewart, John Gilmore and McCoo each caught five passes for the Nittany Lions for a combined 217 yards. Five Lions gained at least 16 yards on the ground, including Casey, who totaled 66 yards on eight carries. "Things are going to have to be corrected if we're going to win the national championship," Casey said. "We'll get out there over the next week and make those corrections."
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