STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Christian Hackenberg treated Saturday’s praise much like he does criticism. He smiled politely, told reporters he’s just doing what the coaches ask and reiterated that nothing has really changed.

"I don’t think anything was different," he added, minutes after arguably his best game of the season against Illinois. "We just went out, and we executed."

Chalk that up to humility instead of reality. Because this didn’t seem like the same Hackenberg who completed less than half his passes against Temple. This was a different quarterback from early in the season, the one who pulled a ball cap close to his eyes during postgame news conferences and was roundly criticized for making poor throws and poorer decisions.

There was no ball cap this time. No criticism either. Students leaned over the railing Saturday to pat Hackenberg on the shoulder after completing a season-high 72.4 percent of his passes. It wasn’t just this game that seemed different, either. Over the past six, Hackenberg has thrown 12 touchdowns and no interceptions.

He might not feel any different, but in the month of October, he sure put up different numbers. Last month, no Big Ten quarterback threw for more than Hackeberg’s nine TD passes and, nationally, only Duke’s Thomas Sirk threw more passes without an interception.

"Christian Hackenberg -- I think a lot of times people find reasons to be critical," coach James Franklin said. "To me, the most important statistic is touchdown-to-interception ratio. He’s done a great job of that in our last six games."

But Hackenberg isn’t about to focus on those numbers. Even with 75 seconds left in Saturday’s game, and PSU leading by five-plus touchdowns, his mind was on the game. Though some of his teammates joked or laughed, he talked into a headset and stared at the action on the field.

This offense didn’t know its identity three weeks ago; it’s becoming a balanced attack now -- thanks to Hackenberg and that focus. Against Maryland, whose priority was stopping running back Saquon Barkley, Hackenberg completed nine passes for 20 or more yards. Against Illinois, he was 4-of-5 on passes thrown 10 or more yards in the air.

But ask Hackenberg about the changes here, and he won’t say much. He wouldn’t even acknowledge Saturday’s 39-0 win -- 21-of-29 passing, 266 yards, two TDs -- as his best of the season.

"Nah," he said. "I mean, I just continue to do my job each and every day. Whatever they’re asking of me, that’s my focus."

If the past few games were any indication, they will ask for fewer screens and more deep passes. That’s where Hackenberg has been his best, and few quarterbacks in the nation have been better.

On passes that travel at least 15 yards in the air, Hackenberg is 13th in the Power 5 with a 93.1 QBR. On passes that go at least 25 yards, he’s 10th in QBR (97.9). Thirty-plus yards? Ninth (99.4).

For every screen carelessly thrown into the turf, Hackenberg seems to toss a long ball destined for a highlight film. He certainly hasn’t been perfect this season -- his completion percentage is still among the worst in the conference -- but he’s done exactly what has been asked of him.

When he was asked to be a game-manager against Rutgers, he did so without publicly complaining. When he was asked to put the weight of the offense on his right arm against Maryland, he did that as well. Thanks to him, Penn State is off its best start since pre-sanctions 2011. Even as his draft stock has dropped this season, Penn State’s win total has increased.

And the latter is just fine with Hackenberg.

"Whatever they’re asking of me, that’s my focus," he said. “Whatever I got to do help the football team win the game."