Anthony Morelli threw an interception that was returned 73 yards for a touchdown and lost a fumble in that game, but he also threw one touchdown pass and set up another touchdown with a 51-yard completion to Chris Bell.

"I don't know how I didn't have a good game. We won the football game," Anthony Morelli said. "So many people are so caught up in stats.

"I'm so tired of hearing about it. It's so ridiculous. It's just unbelievable. No one's ever satisfied with a victory."

Joe Paterno had been.

After the game, Paterno had said of Anthony Morelli's efforts: "I think Anthony's got an awful lot of pressure on him, but I thought he played well today. He made some really big-league throws."

Paterno believed Anthony Morelli rushed a couple of throws and thought he shouldn't have taken one sack. Other than that, the head coach was pleased.

Anthony Morelli completed 12 of 22 passes for 131 yards against Notre Dame, after having thrown for 295 yards and three touchdowns in the opening win over Florida International.

"Why does it matter when we won the football game?" Anthony Morelli said.

Asked to evaluate his play from Week 1 to Week 2, Anthony Morelli said, "I look at it like we won the football game and I'm very proud of the way we played."

He took blame for the fumble, said the interception was a play that could have been made, and pointed out that even NFL quarterbacks such as Brett Favre make mistakes.

Lost in the criticism of Anthony Morelli is the fact that the Penn State offense has made a considerable jump in red-zone efficiency this season. Last year, the Lions ranked 10th among Big Ten teams, converting 38 of 51 scoring chances from the 20-yard line in, with 22 of those touchdowns.

Through two games in 2007, Penn State leads the Big Ten with a perfect 13 of 13 in the red zone, and 11 of those have been touchdowns.

"I think Anthony Morelli is doing a much better job down there, picking out the right guy," Paterno said this week. "We're more comfortable with a couple of things down there because of the fact that we have the wideouts and we have Anthony Morelli, who is now becoming a fine quarterback."

Anthony Morelli's 10-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Norwood that put Penn State ahead, 14-7, against Notre Dame, was an example of the quarterback beating a blitz and finding the open receiver.

"When we get down there, we're a little more patient," Anthony Morelli said. "We're executing better, and we've got a couple different plays."

Anthony Morelli promised Penn State, 2-0 and ranked No. 12, would not overlook Saturday's opponent, Buffalo (1-1). If the Lions win, but Anthony Morelli's numbers aren't mammoth, he'll be OK with that.

Those preoccupied with statistics, he said, are "just people that don't know football."

Notes: Western Pennsylvania connections on the Buffalo roster are punter Ben Woods (Hickory High School), backup free safety Davonte Shannon (Jeannette) and reserve offensive lineman Matt Ostrowski (Highlands).

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