Bill Belton was a major topic of discussion in the Rutgers camp in the days leading up to Saturday's game, and not just because of what the senior running back brought to Penn State's offense.

Some of the Scarlet Knights took offense to comments Belton had made at Big Ten Media Days this summer and weren't shy about letting it be known.

"They were doing a lot of talking the whole week, and we didn't do that," Belton said. "I think they approached it the wrong way. They made this game bigger than what it was. It was the Super Bowl for them. And we just came out here and played our brand of football."

Belton had the last laugh after running for the game-winning touchdown with 1:15 left in Penn State's 13-10 win. The senior had just 36 yards on 15 carries as the Nittany Lions' running game struggled, but he added 52 yards on four catches and made some key blocks to keep pressure off of Christian Hackenberg.

"He was working hard all day to try to get yards after contact," Hackenberg said. "He was having a tough day, and for him to be able to finish that off (with the touchdown run) … he did a great job."

Belton, a Sicklerville, N.J., native, said he didn't feel any extra pressure to win his first game in his home state, even though he wound up in the news well before the game even started.

"The pressure was on them," he said. "They came out and said what they said. They made it that way. We just kept our mouth shut."