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terback Mitch Leidner called for the snap, Bowen was still in communication with his Will LB, true freshman Cam Brown. Because the players were clustered in the middle of the defense along with safety Marcus Allen, who was trying to assist with the call, it appeared as though PSU was terribly out of position for a key third-and-8 in the red zone. But upon the snap of the ball, Bowen beelined through the C-gap and made a solo tackle on the running back for a 2-yard loss. "The game was on the line, I couldn't hesitate," Bowen said. "I just had to be fast with everything, had to use my back- ground knowledge from hearing all the older guys do it – Nyeem and Jason – and just step up in that position and be able to make plays." His third-down tackle proved crucial. The Gophers were able to take the lead on a field goal, but Penn State had just enough time to drive for a field goal of its own on its next possession and sent the game to overtime The Lions eventually won on a 25-yard touchdown run by Saquon Barkley, and the star sophomore running back was the focal point of the postgame coverage. But Bowen was one of the team's unsung he- roes that day, and he hasn't been the only inexperienced linebacker to step up dur- ing critical moments this season. Despite missing portions of the Min- nesota and Michigan games – due to in- jury and to a targeting ejection that the Big Ten later said should have been re- tracted – Smith has come through in a major way for his absent teammates. Heading into the bye week, the Lewis- burg (Pa.) High graduate led the position unit with 31 tackles and was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after the Lions' 38-14 win over Maryland, in which he tallied 14 stops and an intercep- tion. Other underclassmen and rising stars like Bowen have also shown flashes. Starting the season as a redshirt, Brown, a Burtonsville, Md., resident, made his debut at Pitt, but it wasn't until the loss in Ann Arbor, Mich., that he saw his first extended action and finished with 10 tackles. The team's many personnel losses have also forced the coaching staff to move Koa Farmer from safety to Sam LB, which is Bowen's and Brown's natural position. The staff had tried the move a year ago before switching Farmer back to safety, so the adjustment period continues for the Lake View Terrace, Calif., native who was primarily an offensive player in high school. Like a lot of his defensive team- mates, though, he looked his best against the Terrapins, finishing with a season- high five tackles and the biggest play of his young career. Leading 17-7 late in the second quarter, Penn State had just turned the ball over deep in Maryland territory, but on the very next play from the 15-yard line, with the Terps looking to throw, Farmer blitzed from quarterback Perry Hills' blind side. When he made contact, the force of his hit jarred the ball loose and caused a fumble. "I al- most lost my mind," Farmer said. "I mean, I almost took my helmet off on the field, which would have been a penalty, so I took it off when I got to the side- line. I went crazy. Heat-of-the-moment type of thing." After Torrence Brown recov- ered the loose ball, PSU regained possession just one play after losing it, and Farmer's first career sack was the reason why. With Farmer playing some of the more significant minutes of his career, with Cam Brown gaining confidence, with Smith settling into a leadership role and – maybe most important – with Bowen relying on those athletic instincts that earned him four-star praise as a defen- sive playmaker in high school, the line- backer unit appeared to be one of the strengths following that momentous homecoming victory against the Terps, a game in which their run-first offense was held 130 yards below its previous season average. And, to think, all that without the three opening-day starters. Head coach James Franklin preaches loudly what he calls a "next man up mentality" and he's seen it put into action repeatedly this season. "In my 22 years of doing this, I've never been a part of a team that has lost all three of its starting linebackers," Franklin said, adding that "I do want to give Manny, as well as our defense and Brent Pry, credit. TALL ORDER The Lions had been expected to red- shirt Brown this season, but the true freshman was called upon to play, and later to start, after in- juries sidelined seven of his fellow linebackers. Photo by Steve Manuel SEE LINEBACKERS PAGE 59

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