STATE COLLEGE, — Hostile crowd. Tradition-rich opponent. National television.

Penn State's Anthony Morelli knows exactly what kind of pressure Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen will feel when the heralded freshman makes his first collegiate start Saturday against the 14th-ranked Nittany Lions.

Except this time, Morelli is the veteran quarterback on home turf looking for a signature early season win.

A year ago, Morelli strode past Touchdown Jesus into jam-packed Notre Dame Stadium to make his first collegiate road start.

The outcome wasn't pretty — the Brady Quinn-led Irish took advantage of Penn State turnovers, blown assignments and a botched field-goal attempt to win 41-17 and hand the Nittany Lions their worst defeat of the 2006 season.

"We turned over the ball too many times. We've got to focus and take care of the little things," said Morelli, a senior who looks and sounds more confident in his second year as starter.

Memories of last year's drubbing are still fresh in Happy Valley, so Penn State (1-0) wants payback. The makeshift tent city known as "Paternoville" sprouted up on the sidewalk outside Beaver Stadium filled with students eager for the best seats — a sure sign it's a big-game weekend in Happy Valley.

The school called for a "white-out" inside Beaver Stadium, asking all fans to wear white clothing. The Nittany Nation would like nothing more than to watch Clausen's career with the Irish (0-1) start with a loss. In high school, Clausen led Oaks Christian to a 42-0 record as a starter.

"Night games at Beaver, it gets packed, it gets loud. It's a hostile environment for the visiting team," Penn State linebacker Sean Lee said. "It's going to be a dogfight."

Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis prepared his team for a raucous atmosphere by having the Irish practice indoors with Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen blaring on the sound system.

It should be quite a debut for Clausen, rated by many as the nation's top high school recruit last year. He will be the first Notre Dame quarterback in at least 56 years to start in just his second game as a freshman.

Weis said his laid-back quarterback can handle the pressure.

"I think that in an atmosphere like that, if the players see you sweat, figuratively, if they see you lose your composure early, they start to lose confidence," Weis said.