Karon Riley has faith.

Riley's faith helped the Golden Gophers defensive end persevere through a tough Detroit neighborhood.

It was his faith that helped Riley endure tough times at Southern Methodist and find a new home at Minnesota.

And it was his faith that helped Riley become one of the best players in college football.

"The Lord gives me strength to do what I need to do," Riley said. "Just to get past the tackle and get a sack at the time I need to get it because He gives you what you ask for. I believe the Lord is my strength and my faith is my armor."

That armor shielded Riley throughout the 20 years of his life and helped the 6-foot-4, 248-pound defender emerge into the Big Ten sack leader last season as he punished opposing quarterbacks 16 times last season for a loss.

It puts Penn State in a tough position, particularly offensive lineman Imani Bell, who will line up opposite Riley as the Nittany Lions look to get past No. 91 when they face the Gophers at 12:10 p.m. tomorrow in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.

"He's a pretty good defensive end," Penn State quarterback Rashard Casey said. "He's tough. He works hard out there and he makes plays. He is going to come at us and make plays."

And Riley makes quite a presence with his LaVar Arrington-like athleticism and Courtney Brown-type mentality.

He bench presses more than 400 pounds. He runs the 40-meter dash in 4.55 seconds. He has a 36-inch vertical leap.

"He's one of those homemade defensive ends," Minnesota coach Glen Mason said. "He's a big linebacker. He runs like a linebacker, he has athletic ability like a linebacker, but he plays defensive end and he has the ability to make big plays, especially in rushing the passer."

Riley relies on his basketball background that he developed on the Detroit playground and his days playing for Martin Luther King High School. Now, he thinks of helpless quarterbacks as the basketball rim and approaches the target like Latrell Sprewell on a fast break.

"I am going to do what I got to do to get there," Riley said. "I just try to blend my speed and quickness with a lot of my unexpected power moves. I have a lot more power than people give me credit for. I can hold my water."

Riley has held more than that since he arrived in The Twin Cities in 1998. After spending his first two collegiate seasons at Southern Methodist, where he was a part-time starter, something inside him told him to move on and find a new challenge.

Minnesota was that place.

"Like I said to two million different people, it is kind of like a God thing, man," Riley said. "It's like God sent me there, man. It's more of a divine intervention type thing."

And with that divine intervention, Riley has settled in to become college football's premier pass rusher.

Along with the Big Ten leading 16 sacks, Riley was third in the conference with 23 tackles for loss. That caused the Gophers' opposition to lose 119 yards along with the 53 stops last season.

"I look at all those things as blessings and things that are meant to happen," Riley said. "And if I can do it all again, I would do it the same way because all these things have turned around and become blessings for me. I think that is what it was — it's divine intervention."

And faith.