EVANSTON, Ill. - The linebacker duo of sophomore Abdul Carter and junior Tyler Elsdon leaped over the line on a fourth-and-one play to stuff the Northwestern sneak in a one-score game in the third quarter. It was plays like these that set the tone for second half dominance in a 41-13 Penn State win.
Saturdays in September ended in five consecutive wins and another signature performance by the Nittany Lions defense. A 10-10 halftime score was negated by a swarming defense who capitalized in key moments including multiple stops on fourth down.
"When you look at this game and this matchup, you feel like they were gonna have to do something to steal a possession to get a cheap score and do those types of things," Franklin said. "Those things showed up and we were able to make some big time plays there, which obviously were really like turnovers. You could say we only had the one turnover, but really, those are turnovers as well."
First-year defensive line coach Deion Barnes has established a unique culture in his defensive linemen to play fast and create havoc in the backfield. Saturday's showdown with Northwestern featured that level of intensity as Penn State totaled 12 tackles for loss and seven sacks.
The Nittany Lions run defense was stout and effective in the 28-point win as the Wildcats were held to 45 rushing yards. Penn State held Northwestern to minus-10 rushing yards in the first half, creating "a party in the backfield" as said by Barnes.
"The mentality of the defense is making sure we keep up our standard," Barnes said. "Our standard as our standard and that's to try to if somebody is in front of us, we want to make sure that we dominate on every single down."
Penn State mixed-and-matched its defensive schemes sporadically to force Northwestern into a one-dimensional game. With aggressive looks on first and second downs to get the Wildcats off schedule, players like Zane Durant who posted three tackles for loss had key performances.
Creating pressure in early downs forced Northwestern to an average of 9.7 yards to go on third down. This allowed players like junior safety Jaylen Reed to dial up the pressure on receivers in the secondary. Reed recognized that players like sophomore defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton allow the secondary to make game-changing plays.
"When you have a great defensive line that, when they keep getting after the quarterback, the quarterback barely can hold on to the ball or he can just throw it out quick and make terrible decisions," Reed said. "Having a D-Line like that and then building on things like that is a great thing."
Redshirt sophomore linebacker Kobe King stacked the stat sheet all afternoon with speed and strong tackling that stifled the Wildcats pass and run attacks. King posted four tackles with a sack and two tackles for loss.
King was a tone setter and joined eight Nittany Lions who tallied at least a half sack. King echoed the "standard" Barnes illustrated and extended that idea to share how the entire defense is a brotherhood and a family.
"It feels special just when somebody else makes a play and you see them, the energy and emotion you have towards that player," King said. "It's just special to see other guys make the play knowing that you kind of helped them out or you know that you kind of studied it during the week but it always feels special watching someone on a defense with you making plays."
A crucial component of playing complimentary football is dominating the middle eight minutes of the game. A slow start from Penn State's offense was negated by the defense who allowed the offensive playmakers to outscore Northwestern 31-3 in the second half.
Franklin recognized the contest as "sloppy" and a "challenge for us to get into a rhythm." Redshirt senior running back Trey Potts showcased his multifaceted game to wash away the sloppiness with a pair of touchdowns.
Penn State has 12 straight games with 30-plus points and has scored in 32 straight quarters. Both of those components lead the country but a win wasn't without tribulation. Potts recognized how overcoming "adversity" was valuable to success.
"It's ironic, last night we talked about adversity hitting and adversity definitely hit today," Potts said. "Our defense, they stepped up and they went crazy today, so it gave our offense a chance to get our bearings back, bounce back and complete our job."
