Penn State turned a close first half into a blowout, with a big third-quarter run, and ended up winning by a score of 43-14.
[4] The first quarter was dominated by defense, as the only points came on a 19-yard field goal from Penn State placekicker Brett Conway.
With 12:39 left in the second quarter, Auburn posted the first touchdown of the game, with a 25-yard pass from quarterback Patrick Nix to Robert Baker.
Auburn's defense continued its stellar play, giving up field goals of 22 and 38 yards to fall behind, 9–7.
Then with just 5 seconds in the half, Penn State quarterback Wally Richardson threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Mike Archie, to make it a 16–7 halftime lead.