Penn State’s defense is eager to keep up ‘the standard’ heading into Big Ten play vs. Illinois

The Nittany Lions defense held Kent State to just 67 yards of offense. Members of the defense hope to make that the norm.

Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter (11) celebrates after a tackle against Kent State during the first quarter of a 56-0 blowout of the Golden Flashes on Saturday.Read moreBarry Reeger / AP

by Avery Hill

Updated Sept. 24, 2024, 11:03 a.m. ET

Published Sept. 24, 2024, 10:43 a.m. ET

Ever since Penn State’s defense was challenged by Bowling Green in Week 2, the defense of the No. 9-ranked Nittany Lions has made making “the standard” the main topic of conversation.

On Saturday, Penn State held Kent State to just 67 yards in its 56-0 rout of the Golden Flashes. Impressive, especially in the eyes of senior defensive tackle Coziah Izzard, who laid out expectations that the Nittany Lions’ defense would not allow more than 50 yards on the ground to the Golden Flashes — or to any offense for that matter.

Kent State’s total rushing yards? 49.

When asked if that game resembled “the standard,” senior safety Jaylen Reed gave just one word.

“Yes,” Reed said emphatically.

Even with the shutout, Penn State had just two sacks and lost the turnover battle. Despite the minuscule totals, the dominating defense James Franklin expected was there.

Defensive ends Dani Dennis-Sutton and Glenside native Abdul Carter recorded their first sacks of the season. Both were constant factors throughout the game, and so was defensive tackle Zane Durant despite finishing the game with one tackle.

“Zane Durant has been as impactful on the quarterback as anybody,” Franklin said following his press conference on Monday. “If you’re just strictly looking at a stat sheet, you wouldn’t know.”

Durant put pressure on Kent State’s quarterback the entire game. There was even a play where he hit the guard with a quick swim move and got a hit on backup quarterback JD Sherrod, forcing an incompletion.

And then there’s Max Granville, the freshman defensive end who reclassified from the class of 2025 and joined Penn State at the beginning of camp. Granville forced a fumble that was later overturned as incomplete.

With 15.5 sacks, former NFL defensive end Carl Nassib is the last Nittany Lion to total more than 10 sacks in a season (2015). Since then, Penn State’s pass rush has remained dominant, and James Franklin has constantly applauded the impact his players have that don’t find the stat sheets.

In terms of shutting down the run game, Penn State dominated the Golden Flashes’ offensive line by executing in between the gaps — something Izzard pointed out as an issue against Bowling Green.

Since the offseason, the defense needed to adjust to former Indiana head coach Tom Allen as the new defensive coordinator, with Carter moving from linebacker to defensive end, and the late arrival of Granville, among other wrinkles.

Penn State begins its conference season against Illinois on Saturday (7:30 p.m., Big Ten Network).

Dennis-Sutton said that defensive line coach Deion Barnes has set a standard, and despite finishing with two tackles, Dennis-Sutton is upholding that “standard.”

“If you look on the stat sheet it might not be the biggest stats,” Dennis-Sutton said. “If you turn on the film, I’ve been winning my one on ones, been pretty good in the run game.”