Blue White Illustrated

D uring a Tuesday press conference inside the Beaver Stadium media room earlier this season, head coach James Franklin was asked to compare his defense's performance toward the end of games with its performance toward the beginning. "To be honest with you, it's dramatic," Franklin replied. "I mean, you look at the statis- tics defensively from the first half to the second half, we play much better." On the day that question was posed – Sept. 13 – Penn State hadn't even wrapped up its nonconference season. It had played only two games, during which it outscored its opponents by a combined margin of 28 points in the final two quarters. A similar question might elicit the same response today. Three times in their last four games, the Nittany Lions overcame deficits or ties in the second half, includ- ing a 14-point difference in the Big Ten Championship Game against Wisconsin. Those comebacks helped Penn State de- velop a reputation for offensive resilience, as no Power Five team averaged more sec- ond-half points than the Lions' 29.7. But the defense, specifically the defensive line, also played a major role in many of those late-game heroics. Take away the two losses it suffered in the season's first month, and Penn State's opponents aver- aged less than a touchdown after half- time. And that's where Franklin was headed with his prophetic answer in that early-September presser. After losing four contributors to the NFL last April, the Nittany Lions were forced to overhaul their line in 2016. In- stead of relying solely on a few standouts to take their place, Franklin and position coach Sean Spencer took a by-committee approach. In week two against Pitts- burgh, for example, 10 linemen received significant playing time, many of whom had seen their first action at Penn State only a week earlier. Pitt finished its season av- eraging 243 rushing yards per game, but against PSU, it put up 223 in the opening two quarters. The defense im- proved in the second half, so when Franklin explained that the "dra- matic" difference was simply a matter of being "gap-sound" against the Panthers, it was in part a reflection of the inexperi- ence along the defensive front. "I think some of the fly sweeps and mo- tions and shifts that they were doing… made [the young linemen] hesitant," Franklin said. "They weren't playing as fast, as aggressive, as they needed to play." Or, as they later would. COMIN' THROUGH Givens bursts through the Wis- consin offensive line during Penn State's matchup with the Badgers in the Big Ten Championship Game. Photo by Steve Manuel | V S . S O U T H E R N C A L I F O R N I A HOLDING THE LINE After a rough start, the Nittany Lions' defensive front toughens up

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