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STATE COLLEGE, Pennsylvania (Ticker) -- No. 21 Penn State made sure the officials would not have a say in deciding this one.

Larry Johnson rushed for 191 of his school-record 257 yards in the first half and Zack Mills tossed two touchdown passes in the second quarter as the Nittany Lions rolled to a 49-0 romp over Northwestern in a Big Ten Conference matchup.

After last week's 27-24 overtime loss to Michigan, Penn State coach Joe Paterno was highly critical of the officials and asked for a review from the conference.

Paterno, who improved to 332-98-3 lifetime, also criticized the officiating following a 42-35 overtime defeat to Iowa on September 28. After that game, Paterno ran after an official and grabbed him by the shoulders before stating his case.

But the officiating never was a factor against the Wildcats. Penn State (5-2, 2-2 Big Ten) took the lead with 5:27 remaining in the opening quarter when bruising fullback Sean McHugh capped a seven-play, 79-yard drive with a one-yard plunge. Johnson started a 28-point second-quarter barrage with a three-yard run around left tackle to make it 14-0.

"Everything went our way and they got behind," Paterno said. "You know how I always feel about these things - you are never that good and the other guys is never that bad. I thought we came out and (we) had our heads on. We came out with the idea that we were going to show people we were a pretty good football team, and I think we did that."

The 6-2, 222-pound Johnson broke Curt Warner's single-game rushing record with a three-yard TD that gave the Nittany Lions a 42-0 bulge just 1:42 into the third quarter. Johnson set up that score with a 27-yard run on which he was nearly tackled in the backfield before cutting left and sprinting up the sideline.

"I didn't know how many yards he had until someone from the press box called down the bench and informed us he broke Curt Warner's record, so I said get him out of there because there is no sense getting him hurt," Paterno said.

Warner, a member of Penn State's 1982 national championship club who played eight years in the NFL, had 256 yards in a 41-16 win at Syracuse on October 17, 1981.

"It means a lot," Johnson said. "It means that all the guys who have come before me, guys I've been able to meet with like Curt Warner, D.J. Dozier, Curtis Enis, Ki-Jana Carter and Kenny Watson, all those guys who have always encouraged me in my college career, this is dedicated to them."

Mills completed 10-of-15 passes for 119 yards as Penn State rebounded from last week's bitter loss and improved to 7-1 all-time against Northwestern (2-6, 0-4).

"We came off that thing (at Michigan) without feeling sorry for ourselves and just tried to win the football game," Paterno said. "I think they showed that kind of maturity and had some good, strong leaders who just made up their mind that it happened and there is nothing we can do about it now. Our head coach may be crying, but we don't have time to cry."

Northwestern was limited to 64 yards on 32 carries in its worst loss since a season-opening 52-3 setback to Air Force.

"I'm sure that (Johnson's) a good player and they're a great football team, but I'm disappointed in the way we played," Wildcats coach Randy Walker said. "I think we're a better defense than that and I think we can be a better defense than that. Offensively, it looked like we had some moments where we could've had some things going, but we didn't."

Penn State scored on all of its possessions in the second quarter. On the second one, Mills tossed a two-yard pass to tight end Mike Lukac to make it 21-0 with 8:49 remaining.

Mills scored from a yard out with 3:32 left and tossed a 40-yard TD pass to Tony Johnson four seconds before halftime. Tony Johnson, Larry's younger brother, had three receptions for 73 yards.

Early in the fourth quarter, third-string fullback Ricky Upton had a one-yard TD run to end a 14-play, 93-yard drive that lasted more than six minutes

Twelve different players carried the ball for the Nittany Lions, who ran over the Wildcats for 423 yards on the ground.

Playing for the injured Brett Basanez, Northwestern's Tony Stauss was 29-of-42 for 193 yards and an interception.

"We had many opportunities when we were in the 30s and 40s and we just couldn't come through. It wasn't Tony's fault, either," Wildcats receiver Jon Schweighardt said. "We just weren't productive."