Penn State football’s defense had a lot to work on during last week’s bye.

Those questions, though, were answered quickly when Dani Dennis-Sutton got to Kent State quarterback Devin Kargman for a strip sack. Kargman was injured on the play, and Kent State’s offense struggled to do anything for the rest of the game.

Unlike the contest with Bowling Green two weeks ago, Penn State’s defense started fast and stayed hot, allowing just 67 total yards of offense.

Another difference was Tom Allen, who spent Saturday as a play-caller in the box, instead of on the sideline as he had for the first two games of the season.

“Tom hadn’t been up in the box for a long time as a head coach,” James Franklin said. “I think some of the things he’s done as a head coach he doesn’t need to do anymore as a playcaller.”

Allen’s move to the box went well and, according to Franklin, was ultimately the defensive coordinator’s decision.

By having Allen in the box, Franklin believes that the coordinator can focus on playcalling and trust the rest of the staff to manage the emotions that come with a game of football.

“We’ve got a ton of good coaches,” he said. “So in terms of just calling the game, I think that’s the best place to do it.”

The defense excelled with Allen calling plays from upstairs, holding the Golden Flashes scoreless while allowing only six first downs and 1.6 yards per play.

Safety Jaylen Reed said that having Allen in the box wasn’t a big change, while defensive end Abdul Carter admitted it was different not having him on the sidelines, but both agreed the level of play would remain the same.

Carter had one of his best games yet at the defensive end position, recording his first sack of the season. Along with the sack, Carter had four total tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss.

“Obviously, the first two games I didn’t have one, but I just knew that as long as I continued to do my job, the plays would come to me,” Carter said. “It was never stressful and was never a worry.”

After the Bowling Green debacle two weeks ago, Saturday’s shutout is a good performance for the group to hang its hat on until Illinois comes to town next week.

Against Bowling Green, the defense didn’t start fast and took almost an entire half to get into rhythm. Coming into the game against Kent State, it was a point of emphasis for the group.

“It’s very important for us to start fast,” Reed said. “It’s the standard we live up to and it’s something we have to do every game, especially as we head into Big Ten play.”

Even though the group started faster this week, Reed and the rest of the defense know that there are still things they can clean up in the future.

Penn State was called for seven penalties during the game, four coming on the defensive side of the ball. For now, though, Reed is happy with the sample size the defense has shown so far.

“Through three games, I feel like we’ve played pretty well,” Reed said. “But, there’s always stuff to look over and get better at for the future.”