Penn State’s defense has performed at a high level in six of the season’s first eight quarters.

But the Nittany Lions’ play in the opening 30 minutes against Bowling Green on Saturday was not good enough, and the defense’s veterans knew it. The visitors put up 24 points while averaging 7.9 yards per play.

Sixth-year defensive tackle Dvon J-Thomas addressed the team at halftime.

“We’ve been down at games before. We’ve made mistakes before. We’ve tried to do more than what was required before. We’ve been here before,” J-Thomas said when asked about his halftime message to his teammates.

Fourth-year linebacker Kobe King said after Penn State’s 34-27 victory over the Falcons that the ‘D’ had an energy problem in the first half.

“The energy was low,” said King, who finished with seven tackles, four of them solos. “I would say that for myself, as well. It definitely changed in the second half, and it showed.”

With Penn State trailing 24-20 at halftime to a five-touchdown underdog at Beaver Stadium, Tom Allen’s defense forced three punts, intercepted a pair of passes and limited Bowling Green to 89 total yards.

Second-year linebacker Tony Rojas and fourth-year safety Zakee Wheatley produced fourth-quarter interceptions.

With PSU leading 27-24, Rojas intercepted a Connor Bazelak pass at the Penn State 38.

Wheatley ruined the Falcons’ next possession with an interception at the Bowling Green 41, and Penn State running back Nicholas Singleton scored on the next play to extend the Lions’ lead to two scores.

“I’m just trying to be a game-changer, and that play I feel like kind of changed the momentum, so I think I did a good job,” Rojas said of his interception.

Added edge rusher Abdul Carter, who finished with seven tackles: “We’re definitely getting better. And it’s kind of the same aggressiveness since last year, but you got to come out faster. That was unacceptable. It was unacceptable for us.”

Said King about Bowling Green’s opening 75-yard scoring drive: “We don’t want anybody to score any points on us, especially the first drive of the game. We don’t want anybody to score more than a certain amount of points and certain amount of rushing yards and passing yards. It’s just an urge, a sense of urgency. That’s what it is, a sense of urgency with our defense.”

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)