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A game-high seven catches for 96 yards -- both career-bests.
But, of course, the soft-spoken junior receiver from Lancaster County didn't really want to talk about himself after the 24-7 loss to Ohio State on Saturday.
"It doesn't really matter to me. I just wish we would have won the game."
Zug has had his moments before, like that three-touchdown game at Michigan. But, against the Buckeyes, not only was he the main option for quarterback Daryll Clark, he was about the only one.
Clark completed only five other passes the entire day for a combined 29 yards. No other Penn State receiver had more than one catch.
For what it's worth, Zug's 31-yard catch-and-run late in the first quarter, the play that led to the Lions' only points, was his longest play of the season.
"He ended up being open most of the time," Clark said. "Out routes, curl routes, you name it. He definitely stepped up for us. He came to play.
"Whenever I threw it in his area he did a good job of making the catch and made a couple of guys miss and kept it going for us.
"But I didn't give our offense enough today, enough to win."
Zug had three catches for 70 yards in just the first half.
And star receiver Derek Moye was held without a catch for the entire day -- the first time that's happened all season.
A silver lining? Clark's 125 passing yards moves him into sixth place on the career list at Penn State with 4,922. Anthony Morelli is in fifth place with 5,275 passing yards.
Clark also scored his 21st career rushing touchdown, a Penn State record for quarterbacks. He was tied with Michael Robinson at 20.
Tackle machines: Senior linebacker Josh Hull led the Lions with 13 tackles, tying a career-high. Linebacker Sean Lee led everyone with 14 tackles, his best day since getting 14
Lee also became the fifth Nittany Lion with at least 300 career tackles (302). Brian Gelzheiser is fourth with 315.
Breaking through: The 62-yard touchdown pass from Terrelle Pryor to DeVier Posey late in the third quarter was the longest pass play the Lions have given up all season.
Halting a trend: The higher-ranked team in this series had won 17 of the past 18 meetings before Ohio State dented that on Saturday.
Busy day: Jeremy Boone had a career-high 10 punts for a 45.8-yard average. And he also made a touchdown-saving tackle on one of them.
Running wild: Ohio State's 228 rushing yards were the most allowed by Penn State since giving up 288 at Minnesota in 2004.
What happened?: The Lions did not record a sack or force a turnover for the first time this season. And their 201 yards of offense was a team-worst since accumulating that total at Wisconsin in 2006.
Packed house: The announced crowd of 110,033 is the fourth-largest in Beaver Stadium history.
fbodani@ydr.com; 771-2104
