Oct 20, 2002 4 min read

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) – Penn State coach Joe Paterno knew that if Larry Johnson waited for plays to develop, he’d eventually have a big game. Johnson’s patience paid off. Johnson ran for a school-record 257 yards and two touchdowns as the 20th-ranked Nittany Lions routed Northwestern 49-0 Saturday. Five of his 23 carries were for 20 yards or more, and on most of those he fought off tackles at the line of scrimmage, turning the play around and finding open field.

“You can see him getting a little better feel for things … it’s not anything that he ever really lacked, it’s just he was always in a hurry to get things done,” Paterno said. “You saw today he had a lot more patience waiting for a couple things to open up.”

Johnson knew things were going well when even quarterback Zack Mills was blocking downfield for him.

“Zack made a great block when I cut it back,” Johnson said. “You do have 10 other guys out there trying to help you, and you want to use them as much as you can.”

Johnson broke the school mark of 256 yards, set by Curt Warner against Syracuse on Oct. 17, 1981.

Johnson had 191 yards in the first half and was stopped for a 1-yard gain on the first play of the third quarter. Two plays later, he went through the middle of the line and sprinted 60 yards up the left sideline to the Northwestern 5. He ran around the left side on the next play for the rushing record and his second touchdown, giving Penn State (5-2, 2-2 Big Ten) a 42-0 lead.

Northwestern (2-6, 0-4) got in scoring position only once, reaching the Nittany Lions 21-yard line midway through the first quarter. But Tony Stauss was sacked for an 8-yard loss by Gino Capone. The possession ended when David Wasielewski’s 39-yard field goal went wide right.

Even when he didn’t have the ball, Johnson was dangerous. After putting the Nittany Lions on the Northwestern 2-yard line late in the second quarter, Johnson dived over the line and into the end zone – drawing the entire Wildcat defense and leaving tight end Mike Lukac wide open for a 2-yard touchdown pass from Mills. That made it 21-0.

“I love that play,” Johnson said. “We always practice it, but I never get to practice jumping over the line. I told them I’m just going to jump over. It turned out to be a great fake, and I loved doing it.”

Mills had a 1-yard touchdown run and threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Tony Johnson, Larry’s younger brother, to make it 35-0 at halftime.

It was the 332nd win for Paterno, extending his Division I-A record.

The Wildcats set up their missed field goal with a trick play, as Jeff Backes ran 47 yards on a reverse on the kick return, to the Penn State 46-yard line. The Wildcats tried the same play in the second quarter, but to no avail – Jason Wright was stopped at his own 5.

Northwestern’s anemic offense – Stauss’ fumble for a 31-yard loss on the Wildcats last play left them with just 9 rushing yards – was matched by its porous defense, which gave up 423 rushing yards.

“Sure, he’s a great back and they’re a good football team, but we didn’t play very well today,” Walker said. “We have played better defense than this.”

Larry Johnson put Penn State up 14-0 with a 3-yard run early in the second quarter. He set up the score with a 27-yard run, first going left, then breaking a tackle and cutting back to the right for the big gain.

Sean McHugh scored his first career touchdown, going in from the 1-yard line to give Penn State a 7-0 lead.

Larry Johnson set up the score with a 24-yard run, skipping inside a block, then slipping two tackles before being brought down at the 1.