Blue White Illustrated

Iowa Pregame

Penn State Sports Magazine

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O C T O B E R   2 4 ,   2 0 1 8 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 15 While he was on the sideline, waiting for his chance, Shaka Toney was feeling the pressure from Sean Spencer. He could sense the urgency, not just from the game clock and Indiana's late surge, but also from Spencer's demeanor. So Toney wanted to deliver, not just for his team, but also for his position coach. And did he deliver. In a 15-minute span, he went from having only one sack to standing atop the team's leader board more than halfway through the 2018 season. Following back-to-back losses to Ohio State and Michigan State in which the de- fense wasn't able to hold onto fourth- quarter leads, Spencer had put an even greater emphasis on closing out games with strength. More than anything, it was an attempt to cultivate a mindset. Toney called it a "finisher's mentality," saying that Spencer "puts a lot of pressure on us to make sure we finish games." In a 33-28 victory in Bloomington on Sat- urday, it was needed again, and Toney was ready to do his part. Although Penn State surrendered a late touchdown to the Hoosiers, Spencer's defensive line came up with plays when they were needed. Toney made four of those plays. In addi- tion to two strong tackles against the run in the third quarter, he finished with four sacks, all of which came in the fourth quar- ter. All of which, as he credited in the postgame interview, came with the help of his fellow defensive line-mates. And from Spencer, of course, too. "Coach Spencer is always on us about closing the game, putting the game on our shoulders," Toney said. "Shareef [Miller] T I M   O W E N | O W E N . T I M . B W I @ G M A I L . C O M Toney eager to build on historic game at Indiana Toney wraps up In- diana quarterback Peyton Ramsey. The Nittany Lions' redshirt sophomore defensive end made school his- tory by sacking Ramsey four times in Penn State's 33- 28 victory over the Hoosiers. All of his sacks were in the fourth quarter. Photo by Steve Manuel

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