Blue White Illustrated

P E N N S T A T E F O O T B A L L >> front, dubbed the Wild Dogs by assistant coach Sean Spencer, was on fire through the first half of the season. The foundation of a defense that was living up to, if not exceeding, its presea- son expectations through seven games, the line has helped produce a pass rush that was averaging four sacks per game. heading into the team's visit to Michigan State on Oct. 26. That average ranked fourth in the Football Bowl Subdivision, and the line was accountable for nearly 70 percent of the team's sack production. Forming a distinct identity built around first stopping the run, then making the duration of the game miserable for op- posing quarterbacks and receivers, the Nittany Lion defense has executed its plan with precision. "In our room, we take the running game very seriously this year. We weren't sat- isfied with how we played the run last year and how we let people get over 100 yards," Toney said. "We just feel like you can't be an elite defense and let people run all over you. "If you talk to any defensive coordinator, any defensive player, everybody's job should be stopping the run, because if you make a team one-dimensional, it makes your life a whole lot easier. We just really pride ourselves on that, because we don't even think about rushing the quarterback until third down. We want teams in third- and-8, third-and-9 and longer. We want to come out and be physical every single play when it comes to running the ball. We just don't want to allow anybody to run on us. We take a lot of pride in that. That's our number one goal, over sacks, TFL, everything. It's being physical in the run game, doing our jobs, taking on double- teams so our linebackers and our safeties and corners can flow to the ball easily." Linebacker Jesse Luketa, one of the pri- mary beneficiaries of the performance, framed the issue similarly, if more suc- cinctly. "If teams can't run, their only option is to pass," he said. "It's as simple as that. It's going to work in our favor." The numbers reflect the plan's effec- tiveness. Through seven games, the Nittany Lions were fourth nationally against the run, allowing just 66.3 yards per game on the ground. Only Buffalo and Michigan had surpassed 100 yards rushing. The Lions' most dominant performance was against Idaho, a game in which they al- lowed only 4 yards on 28 carries. But they were also tough on Pitt (24 yards on 25 carries) and even tougher on Purdue (minus-19 yards on 28 carries, thanks in large part to 10 sacks). Extending outward, Penn State has used its effectiveness against the run as a way to force opponents into frequent third- and-long situations. The result has been

• Cover