BOSTON - Boston College may have another successful scrambling quarterback.

Paul Peterson threw for 199 yards and three touchdowns, and Boston College beat Penn State for the second straight year, 21-7, Saturday night.

After struggling in the Eagles' opener against Ball State, Peterson went 23-of- 31. In the opener, he completed 12 of 23 for 135 yards with one interception.

"He makes plays," Boston College coach Tom O'Brien said. "He's one of those guys that sees the whole field. Sometimes I think the defense would swear that he's got eyes in the back of his head. He's best when he's out there creating."

Peterson was at his best on the Eagles' first TD when he rolled to his left and had to loft a 6-yard touchdown toss to tight end David Kashetta, giving BC a 7-0 lead.

"I felt like I was seeing things pretty well, unlike last game," Peterson said.

Legendary Penn State coach Joe Paterno knows a little about BC's history with scrambling quarterbacks.

Twenty-two years ago, Paterno watched Doug Flutie start his rise to prominence when he threw for 520 yards in a 52-17 BC loss. His No. 22 is a big part of BC's football lore, with many fans still wearing the jerseys a number of years after the 1984 Heisman Trophy winner's career ended.

"I think we have to give their QB some credit," Paterno said. "He came up with a couple of big-time plays. He scrambles well and finds people downfield. He's a pretty good player. He really is."

Backup running back Andre Callender finished with 114 yards on 27 carries for the Eagles (2-0).

"He's the guy next week," O'Brien said.

Penn State's Zack Mills was intercepted four times. He finished 23-of-41 for 254 yards and one TD.

Penn State (1-1) rushed for just 22 yards in the first half and 53 in the first three quarters. The Nittany Lions ended up with 73 yards overall and lost to the Eagles for just the fourth time in 23 meetings.

"We really couldn't run the ball," Paterno said.

The Eagles capitalized on two roughing the punter penalties on consecutive fourth downs in their own territory to keep their opening drive alive before Paterson hit Kashetta.

Boston College started running through the middle of Penn State's defense in the second quarter, moving to the Nittany Lions' 10 before fumbling.

But Penn State's fullback Paul Jefferson fumbled three plays later, and BC's Ricky Brown recovered at the Nittany Lions' 26. Peterson threw his second TD on the next play, connecting with Grant Adams down the middle to make it 14-0 with 8:19 left in the first half.

Penn State opened the second half by marching 61 yards in six plays, cutting its deficit to 14-7 when Mills hit Ryan Scott with a 13-yard scoring pass.

The Eagles came right back, moving 74 yards in 16 plays to take a 21-7 lead when Peterson hit fullback Mark Palmer with a 2-yard TD toss. He rolled to his right and held the ball for a while before Palmer could get open.

BC converted five third-down plays on the drive, scoring on the last. That score was set up by Peterson's 24-yard pass to Jason Lilly, a play that moved the ball to the Nittany Lions' four-yard-line.