Quinn, the Heisman hyped quarterback, was 12-of-16 passing for 150 yards and two touchdowns in the second quarter alone as fourth-ranked Notre Dame opened a 20-0 lead.



The defense and special teams chipped in, too, breaking the game open in the third quarter by scoring one touchdown and setting up another as the Fighting Irish cruised. The game was essentially over at halftime.

Instead of the long touchdowns of last season -- such as the four touchdowns of 55 yards or longer that Ohio State had in the Fiesta Bowl -- the second-ranked Irish (2-0) gave up just two runs longer than 20 yards and one pass longer than 20 yards in beating No. 25 Penn State 41-17 Saturday.

While some teams are playing directional schools and Division I-AA teams, the Irish opened against Georgia Tech and Penn State. They are giving up 76 fewer yards per game than a season ago, including 82 yards fewer yards passing, and rank 31st in the country in scoring defense at 13.5 points a game.