Nittany Lions climb to No. 3 after bashing Badgers

MADISON, Wis. -- Meet Penn State, the scrappy little underdog looking to prove its doubters wrong.

OK, so the no-respect bit might be a little hard to swallow at this point, with Penn State ranked No. 3 and plowing through the opposition on its way to a 7-0 start.

But Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark senses some skepticism.

So after a 48-7 dismantling of slumping Wisconsin on Saturday night, Clark said the Nittany Lions are out to prove they're legitimate national championship contenders.

"We ignore what people say -- that we're overrated, that we can't win on the road and things like that," Clark said. "Joe (Paterno) tells us to put that on the back burner, but don't forget about it."

After winning back-to-back Big Ten road games, the Nittany Lions head home to play struggling Michigan -- the next step in what might be shaping up as another title run under the 81-year-old Coach Paterno.

Paterno, whose sore hip forced him to coach from the press box for the second week in a row, said the Nittany Lions "deserve to be considered" in the national championship picture.

"Our goal is to get to the top and there is no room for stumbles," left tackle Gerald Cadogan said. "It was important to keep making a statement and we did against Wisconsin."

Despite dealing Wisconsin (3-3, 0-3) its worst loss since 1989, Nittany Lions players saw room for improvement -- especially on offense.

Clark was 16-of-25 for 244 yards and a touchdown, and ran for another two scores. But running back Evan Royster was held to 60 yards and a touchdown.

The lopsided final score was more about the Nittany Lions' dominant defense. Penn State held the Badgers' once-intimidating running game to a relatively tame 148 yards and delivered four turnovers.

"Wisconsin gave us the ball multiple times," Paterno said.

So to summarize, Penn State beat a team that recently was ranked in the top 10 by 41 points on the road -- and thinks it can play much better.