BIG TEN FOOTBALL Explosive Spartans meet stingy Lions

The PSU defense has held every opponent to 21 points or less.
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- The goal-line stand that gave Penn State its first Big Ten win this season was just starting to sink in when another Big Ten team stole their thunder.
Michigan State -- the last opponent for the Nittany Lions -- hung 49 points on a Wisconsin defense that was rated one of the best in the country.
"We were on the plane, and a couple guys got updates from their friends on their cell phones," Penn State linebacker Derek Wake said. "At first I thought they were joking -- I don't remember the final score, but they said they scored 40-something. It's surprising."
Records
Surprise! The same Spartans (5-5, 4-3 Big Ten) who lost their season opener at Rutgers routed then-No. 4 Wisconsin 49-14. Next, Michigan State takes on Penn State (3-7, 1-6) and a defense that is one of just two in the country that has held every opponent to 21 points or less.
"They are very good defensively," Michigan State coach John L. Smith said. "They have great athletes, and we'll have to deal with that."
They had no problem dealing with the Badgers, posting 551 yards of offense. Even Smith wasn't expecting that kind of production, saying his offense had improved "further and faster" than the coaches expected.
"Our running back by committee plan has really improved. That has been a pleasant surprise," Smith said. "They've all been very unselfish and have accepted their roles."
Penn State's challenge is to figure out all those roles. The Spartans rushed for 430 of those yards, with four different backs gaining 72 yards or more.
"They run a little bit of everything, and that's what's so hard to defend them," defensive tackle Scott Paxson said. "They can really shatter your mind a little bit because of all the formations they do."
Pride in defense
Safety Andrew Guman said the game will give Penn State a chance to show how good its defense is.
"If we want to show what kind of defense we are, one of the better defenses in our conference and in the country, this is the game to do it because these guys have proven that they're one of the best offenses," Guman said.
"Especially the way they dismantled Wisconsin, which was the best [defense] in the nation. They picked them apart -- made it look rather easy."
"I really think this is the best team we have played so far. I am not trying to blow smoke -- I really do," Penn State coach Joe Paterno said. "I think that the way they are playing right now, offensively, it will be a real challenge to us defensively, and I think we are going to have to score points in order to win this football game, which we have not been able to do to a degree."