What does it mean?

That, despite winning by a score of just 20-6 over Purdue, Penn State passed its first real test on the road. The Nittany Lions weren't particularly sharp in any aspect of the game, but it speaks volumes about how talented this team is that they could make a 14-point victory look that easy.

Here are some things I took from the game:

- I'd like to see Evan Royster and Stephfon Green line up in the backfield at the same time. Green seems to have accepted that he can't always rely on his breakaway speed and I'm not sure there's a tailback with better vision in the country than Royster. Does that mean he's the best? Nope, but Royster's in the top 10.

- Penn State must have had players lose their footing 10 times Saturday. Even though I was a lineman in high school I know you have to cut off your outside foot. Most of your weight is on the inside foot and you're most likely going to have your feet go out from under you on a wet surface like the one at Ross-Aide Stadium.

- Josh Hull had his best game of the season. I haven't exactly been a Hull supporter, but he played extremely well. I wasn't alone. ESPN broadcaster Andre Ware said Hull, who had 11 tackles, was one of the best Penn State has had in the middle in a long time. Ware, the former Heisman winner and NFL bust, must have forgotten about guys named Posluszny and Connor.

- Jeremy Boone couldn't buy a break. All four of his punts should have been down inside the Purdue 10, but the gunners failed to locate the ball before it bounced into the end zone. Boone gave them a shot, but his teammates didn't do their jobs.

- I'm not nearly as nervous when Kevin Kelly attempts a tough field goal as I had been the past two years. After his near meltdown in the Orange Bowl in 2006, Kelly seemed shaky on just about every field goal with a tough angle. Not so this year, especially Saturday when he drilled both from the right hashmark.

- Hull's linebacker mates didn't play nearly as well as the former walk on. Bani Gbadyu was shaky in coverage and Navorro Bowman was too busy trying to strip the ball to make a tackle. That has to change before next Saturday's game at Wisconsin.

- Where was Maurice Evans? Yes, Purdue's short-passing game makes it hard to sack its quarterback, but Evans was nowhere to be found. He did have two tackles, about two more than I thought he had before looking at the stat sheet.

- Penn State needs to get better on third down. The Nittany Lions were just 4-of-12 against the Boilermakers and a lot of that is because of questionable play calling on first and second down. Several times Penn State seemed to have momentum behind it only to have a missed protection or errant throw leave it in second- or third-and-long.

- I'd like to see Daryll Clark run more. I'm sure the Penn State coaches have preached for him to be patient in the pocket, but why waste his running ability? Do I want him scrambling 10-plus times a game? No, but five would be nice, especially with his size and athleticism.

That's it for this week. Another game, another victory for the Nittany Lions, but it only gets harder from here on out.