Penn State football’s defense was in unfamiliar territory in the first half of its 34-27 win over Bowling Green Saturday and it started on the opening drive of the game.

Penn State, as it usually does when it wins the coin toss, deferred to its opponent so its defense can set the tone early. The defense had done just that until it faced Bowling Green.

For the first time since playing Michigan State in 2021, the Nittany Lions allowed a touchdown on its opponent’s first possession of the game. But it wasn’t just the 28-game streak that was broken, the defensive scheme was as well.

Indiana transfer and Bowling Green’s starting quarterback Connor Bazelak was unfazed in the first half by the 103,861 fans that filled Beaver Stadium. The senior signal caller was 16 for 20 with 192 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. Against Fordham the week prior, Bazelak was 15 for 22 with 168 yards and no touchdowns.

But it wasn’t just Bazelak that caused Penn State trouble. The Falcons had 121 yards and a touchdown on the ground and the defense struggled to get off the field on third down. Bowling Green went three for five on third down, compared to Penn State’s one for four, and the Falcons didn’t punt until the second half.

“It wasn’t the standard,” linebacker Kobe King said after the game. “Too many points were being scored. We let them get too much.”

King went on to say how the team, including himself, lacked energy and weren’t on the same “wavelength” in the first half, and it showed.

At the end of the first half, Penn State was outscored, outgained, and simply outplayed. However, the Nittany Lions made a complete 180 in the second half.

Bowling Green had six total yards in the third quarter. In the fourth, the Falcons only managed to gain 83 yards for a total of 89 yards of offense in the second half.

The defense also caught up to Bazelak as safety Zakee Wheatley and linebacker Tony Rojas forced interceptions at the end of the game.

“In the second half, we came out and played how we were supposed to play,” safety Jaylen Reed said.

After the game, several players said defensive coordinator Tom Allen, along with the captains and vets, gave some words of encouragement to help spark the big second-half performance.

“It was really emphasizing the standard and changing everything around from the first half,” King said. “The energy wasn’t really there, but I think our defense definitely understood that and took that as a note when we came out for the second half.”

Although the defense didn’t play to its standard, Carter said they’ll get back to work in the film session on Sunday.

“We’ll just focus on what we did wrong and just try to correct it for next time we’re on the field,” Carter said. “We’re going to get better.”