Nittany Lions Will Lean on Defense Against Buckeyes

After losing five defensive starters—including two of the best linebackers in school history—question marks surrounded Penn State going into 2008. However, eight games into the season, the number-three ranked Nittany Lions have that very defense to thank for their current standing. Like the 2007 New York Giants, Penn State is not made up of superstars. Very few players are considered in the top-five at their position in the nation, yet they continue to succeed without a compilation of All-American’s. Rather than playing for themselves, Penn State has embraced the “team-first” attitude that led Big Blue to a Super Bowl XLII victory. And that attitude is exactly what they’ll need to have going into a very important game this weekend against the ninth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes—a game that has National Title implications for Joe Paterno & Co. Coming off an impressive 45-7 rout of the then 20th-ranked Michigan, egos are running high in Ohio. It was ... (link)