After holding a 10-0 lead at halftime over FIU, Penn State hit the gas, scoring 24 points in the second half for a 34-0 Week 2 win. While quarterback Drew Allar and the offense began to find its footing after a shaky first half, it was the Penn State defense that caught James Franklin’s attention on Saturay in Happy Valley.
Beyond the shutout, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles’ unit generated nine tackles for loss, two sacks, a forced fumble, and an interception. That level of disruption is exactly what Franklin wanted out of a unit that lost Abdul Carter to the first round of the NFL Draft.
“Shutout and turnovers,” Franklin told Big Ten Network on the field after the game. “Our D-line has got to be leading the country in turnovers right now, two interceptions (across two games), a fumble recovery almost for a touchdown. So, those things are positive and we can build on them, but there’s still a ton of stuff we’ve got to clean up.”
The fumble recovery came courtesy of true freshman Chaz Coleman, who was a major standout for the Nittany Lions in Week 2. The four-star defensive end got the green light to burn his redshirt this season and showed why against FIU with a strip sack and two tackles for a loss. His fourth-quarter strip-sack set up Nicholas Singelton's late touchdown to extend the lead.
Coleman saw plenty of playing time in the second half, spelling veterans Dani Dennis-Sutton and Zuriah Fisher, who made his season debut on Saturday after missing all of 2024 with an injury.
Through Penn State’s 2-0 start to the season, its edge rushers have been dominant. Creating pressure up front was the key to Knowles’ defense at Ohio State last season, as he helped Ryan Day lead the Buckeyes to a national championship. All four of his starting defensive linemen, Jack Sawyer, JT Tuimoloau, Tyleik Williams, and Ty Hamilton, were selected in the 2025 NFL Draft.
This year, his group in Happy Valley is likely to produce at least three draft picks: Dennis-Sutton, Fisher, and interior defensive lineman Zane Durant, who returned with Dennis-Sutton for his senior year after last season’s College Football Playoff Semifinal appearance.
Franklin harped on the need for his team to “clean things up” after the sloppy Week 2 victory, but the No. 2 team in the country looks ready to compete with the best teams in the country in the trenches. That group will be tested in Week 5 when the Nittany Lions open Big Ten play at home against Oregon.