The uniforms remain retro.

The coach is as old school as they come.

But Penn State's offense is suddenly high tech.

It goes by the label "Spread HD" and is the brainchild of quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno, son of the legendary 81-year-old coach, Joe Paterno.

The HD apparently stands for a variety of things, anything from "high definition" to "highly diverse."

Jay Paterno was trying to come up with the next generation of the spread offense, which uses a West Coast passing attack, with NFL-style pass plays, along with a spread running game.

Shortly after being named the starter, junior quarterback Daryll Clark joked, "Hopefully it doesn't turn out to be a huge dud."

It has been anything but that for the sixth-ranked Nittany Lions (6-0 overall, 2-0 Big Ten), who are off to a flying start heading into their game at the University of Wisconsin Saturday night.

Penn State is the only conference team averaging 40 points per game (44.8) and has become one of the most balanced offenses in the country. It is ranked in the top 10 in the nation in scoring, total offense (499.6 ypg) and rushing (256.6 ypg). It leads the Big Ten in all three areas and is third in passing (243 ypg).

The key has been the dynamic Clark, who has drawn favorable comparisons to Michael Robinson, another dual-threat quarterback for the Nittany Lions who was the Big Ten's Offensive Player of the Year (coaches' voting) in 2005.

Jay Paterno recruited Clark out of Youngstown, Ohio, then stuck by him when Clark failed to qualify academically and spent a year at a prep school. Joe Paterno has since admitted he probably made a mistake in sticking with the immobile Anthony Morelli, a senior last season.

"I've been second-guessing myself a little bit that I didn't play (Clark) more at the end of the year," Joe Paterno said recently. "I didn't want to do it because I just didn't feel it was fair to Morelli because he'd gotten so much heck from the press and the fans."

Clark leads the Big Ten with a 162.5 pass efficiency rating and no one else is close. He has completed 64.5 percent of his passes (80 of 124) for 1,116 yards, with nine touchdowns and one interception.

"He's a guy who can do it all," Joe Paterno said on Tuesday. "He can run and he can tough run. He's a big man, about 235 (pounds) and he's got good speed. He's developed into a good passer and getting better all the time.

"He's getting a touch. For a while there, he wanted to throw the ball through your head every time, if you were five yards away or 40 yards away."

Clark has a plethora of weapons around him. He has three standout senior receivers, now that Jordan Norwood is expected back after missing two games with a hamstring injury. Norwood joins Deon Butler and Derrick Williams to form probably the best trio in the conference.

Sophomore Evan Royster is quickly developing into one of the best running backs in the conference, with 659 rushing yards and a gaudy 7.8 average per carry. The offensive line is excellent, with three senior starters.

If that's not enough, Penn State has the Big Ten's top-rated defense, overall (250 ypg), against the run (80.2 ypg) and pass efficiency (96.3).