UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – After two days of visiting sports bars and steel plants and bowling badly, Barack Obama got back Sunday to what he does best.

He held a mass rally in a college town.

On the Old Main lawn at Penn State, on a cold and sunny afternoon, the Democratic presidential candidate addressed an adoring crowd estimated by university police at 22,000 – a figure that would make it one of the larger rallies of the national campaign to date.

The gathering was the highlight of Day Three of Obama’s six-day bus tour across Pennsylvania. The trip – which has been heavy on low-key, retail politics – is central to his attempt, three weeks in advance of the April 22 primary, to start eating into Hillary Rodham Clinton’s double-digit lead in the polls.

In his speech, Obama talked about ending the war in Iraq, about reforming education and health care, and about making Washington a less cynical and more productive place. He also spoke to Democrats’ concerns about the nasty turn the race has taken in the last few weeks.

“As this primary has gone on a little bit longer, there’ve been people who’ve been voicing some frustration,” he said. ” … feel like that initial hopefulness that we had now is kind of slipping away …

“This has been a great contest, great for America. It’s engaged and involved people like never before.”

Many in the crowd said they were dazzled by what they saw and heard.

“I’m filled up, and I got chills, which is a good sign,” said Quinn Dwyer, 22, of Valley Forge, who’s been studying to be an art teacher. “I was undecided, but I think I’m with him.”

But her roommate, Stacey Cohen, 22, of Harrisburg, said she thought she’d still vote for Clinton.

“He gives a great speech; he’s a beautiful human,” she said. “It’s a tough decision. But I’m going into nursing, and I think her health-care program is “outrageous”

As he opened his remarks, Obama made it clear he understood the priorities of the Penn State community.

He mentioned that he had spent the last few minutes meeting with Nittany Lion quarterbacks coach Jay Paterno, son of Joe and an Obama supporter. He then saluted Sue Paterno, wife of Joe, who was in the crowd. And he mentioned that he’d had a pleasant and friendly cell phone conversation, mostly about football and intercollegiate athletics, with the legendary 81-year-old coach himself. Joe Paterno is a Republican. Clinton returns to Pennsylvania on Monday with appearances in Harrisburg and Bucks County. She took Sunday off. But her top state surrogates were on the Sunday political shows making her case for her.

Both Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell delivered the message was that race is far from over and that Pennsylvania can give Clinton a lift heading into the final primaries.

“We’re in the seventh inning and one team may be ahead, but you have to play this out to the conclusion,” said Nutter, who appeared on “Face the Nation” on CBS. “Let’s not rush this game.”

In the last few days, there has been increased discussion about the possible damage to Democratic prospects in the fall that might be caused the longer the race continues.

“It’s a disgrace that the Obama forces say, “He’s winning the popular vote, so he’s the nominee,”‘ Rendell said on ABC’s This Week show. “There are 10 states left.”

Clinton, in an interview published Sunday in The Washington Post, said that she has “no intention of stopping until we finish what we started and until we see what happens in the next 10 contests and until we resolve Florida and Michigan.”

Obama, before arriving at his rally, visited the Penn State agriculture facilities, getting a lesson in dairy farming and learning that agriculture is the state’s No. 1 business.

At one point, he put a bottle of milk into the mouth of a month-old calf, noting with satisfaction, “She chowed that sucker down.” He made sure that photographers recorded the event, saying he needed it for his two daughters.

“Every day they say, “What did you do today?’ “Well, I gave a speech.’ “Boring.’ They are not interested in my work generally. So I can prove to them once in a while … “

On Saturday evening in Altoona, Obama, wearing a tie, went bowling, his first few rolls winding up in the gutter.

“My economic plan is better than my bowling,” Obama told onlookers.

“It has to be,” a man called out.

Late Sunday, Obama traveled to Harrisburg for an early-evening town-hall meeting, stopping along the way at another sports bar, this one in Burnham.

Monday, he has events scheduled in Lancaster and Allentown.

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(c) 2008, The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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AP-NY-03-30-08 1943EDT