As State College police investigated Saturday night's post-football game disturbance, Internet videos yesterday showed chaotic street scenes including a lamppost being toppled as fans celebrated Penn State University's win over Ohio State.

Those videos and other surveillance footage shot downtown in the borough will be used to help identify people who took part, police Chief Tom King said.

Four detectives -- three from his department and one from Penn State -- are working full time, investigating the worst vandalism in the borough since Temple University eliminated the Penn State men's basketball team from NCAA tournament contention in 2001.

Police said they anticipate making approximately 10 arrests from Saturday's trouble. Some individuals could face felony charges of rioting.

"We thought we were past this," said Chief King, alluding to efforts made by the borough and by Penn State after the 2001 ruckus and earlier disturbances that marred a local arts festival in 1998 and 2000. "Unfortunately a small percentage ruins it for everybody else."

Saturday night's problems began about 11:15 p.m. as a crowd that eventually numbered 4,000 to 5,000 people surged onto Beaver Avenue from bars and from residences on and off campus after Penn State's 13-6 win in Columbus. They overwhelmed the 25 to 30 borough and university officers deployed to keep the streets clear after the away game.

No one was seriously hurt as some in the crowd became unruly. But $10,000 to $15,000 in property damage was reported, much of it in what's known as "Beaver Canyon," a stretch near the intersection of Beaver Avenue and Locust Lane that has five student high-rise apartment buildings with balconies overlooking the street.

Debris, including full cans of beer and half-filled water bottles, rained down on officers and others in the crowd.

"Most of it was soft objects," Chief King said. "Toilet paper, pizza boxes."

In addition to damaged lampposts, several cars were vandalized and small fires were set but later extinguished by officers.

Police using pepper spray managed to clear the streets after about 90 minutes, Chief King said.

Some of the damage was captured on videos that began appearing on YouTube within hours of the disturbance.

It was not known how many students were involved in the trouble. Penn State officials said any identified will be referred to the office of judicial affairs for disciplinary review.

"We understand the desire to celebrate, but a percentage of these people got out of hand and it was no doubt fueled by alcohol," Penn State spokesman Geoff Rushton said.

"This is not acceptable to anyone who cares about the university, public safety or decent behavior."

Saturday's trouble was significantly smaller than the late-night street party in 1998 that marred the Central Pennsylvania Festival of Arts. The injuries and property damage topping $100,000 that night made it the most severe of the three previous disturbances, Chief King said.

In the years since, both the borough and university have vowed to take a hard line against students and others. In the aftermath of the three earlier disturbances, dozens of Penn State students faced charges, and 73 were suspended, dismissed or left the university voluntarily.