Penn State beats Navy 34-7 for O'Brien's 1st win

"I said 'Hey listen, it's his first win as a head coach. You've got to give it to him,'" McGloin said with a laugh.

It was too much to resist. Penn State football finally had a victory to celebrate.

McGloin threw for 231 yards and four touchdowns, Allen Robinson torched the Midshipmen secondary with 136 yards and three scores, and the Nittany Lions (1-2) rolled to the morale-boosting win following two draining losses to open a season of change in Happy Valley.

"In many ways, it was a long time coming," said O'Brien, soaking wet while speaking to reporters after the game. "All the hard work they've put in this week, it finally paid off ... But it's just one win. We've got to soak it in tonight but get back to work on Monday."

Penn State hadn't come off the field victors since last Nov. 19 at Ohio State. That was soon after former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky was charged with child sex abuse and the late Joe Paterno was fired. O'Brien was hired in January as Paterno's replacement, and the Penn State program was slammed with NCAA sanctions in July over the school's handling of the Sandusky case.

Among the penalties, the school was forced to vacate all its wins since 1998, so technically that 20-14 victory over the Buckeyes didn't even count. The Nittany Lions last official win was 35-10 over Wisconsin on Nov. 22, 1997.

"When you think about all the things they've been through — it's a pretty neat group of kids," O'Brien said. "I just feel great for these football players here at Penn State today."

Gee Gee Greene ran for 70 yards for the Midshipmen (0-2) and scored on a 12-yard run to end the Penn State shutout with 10:03 left.

Too little, too late, for mistake-prone Navy.

Linebacker U forced four turnovers including Mike Hull's 74-yard fumble return to make it 34-0 in the fourth quarter. Navy was beset by seven penalties for 41 yards.

"It's uncharacteristic of us. We didn't play well. I didn't coach well," said Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo. "We've got to play mentally perfect to have a chance against a team like Penn State. We didn't come close, not even close."

Faint chants of "Bill O'Brien" echoed out of the stands after the two teams exchanged handshakes at midfield following the final whistle. The Nittany Lions avoided going 0-3 for the first time since 2001.

"For Coach O'Brien that was big because of all the hard work he's put in for us," said Hill, who recovered a Navy fumble. "And for us, too. All the hard work that we've put in and everything we've been through. Just to get one game under our belts, one win under our belts, now we feel like we're just going to get it rolling."

The Nittany Lions offense rolled from the start against Navy.

On a play fake, McGloin scrambled right and found tight end Jesse James in the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown catch and a 7-0 lead on the game-opening drive. More than five minutes later, McGloin hit Robinson with a pass at about the 10, but the sophomore two-stepped around defensive back Tra'ves Bush to jog untouched into the end zone for a two-touchdown lead.