Tired of hearing they were the team's weak link, the members of Michigan's defensive line took it upon themselves this season to make the transformation from pushovers to powerhouses.

Their efforts were evident during Saturday's 20-0 win at Penn State. The Wolverines dominated the line of scrimmage, holding the Nittany Lions to a meager 25 yards rushing while harassing quarterback Zack Mills all afternoon.

End Dan Rumishek led the charge with a career-high three sacks, while fellow lineman Shawn Lazarus scooped up a Mills fumble after one of those sacks and returned it 23 yards to stave off one of Penn State's few offensive threats.

"I think our defense did a tremendous job," said tailback B.J. Askew. "You can't ask for a defense to play any better than that, shutting a team out."

Michigan became the first team to shut out a Joe Paterno-coached team in Happy Valley. The Wolverines' pack of linebackers — Larry Foote, Victor Hobson and Eric Brackins — also played an outstanding game, but it was the line that set the tone.

"Like I was saying all year they are bigger, stronger, and faster," Foote said. "They're hungry. Last year they got beat up a little bit, so this year they're trying to prove to everybody that they could.

The struggles that Rumishek, Lazarus and Michigan's other linemen endured were well-documented. Last season, the Wolverines finished sixth in the Big Ten in total defense, mainly because of an inability to develop a consistent pass rush.

"They paid their dues," said head coach Lloyd Carr. "They paid the price and the price is that you get knocked around."

So far this season, the tables have turned. In addition to four sacks of Mills Saturday, the Wolverines dumped Illinois' Kurt Kittner five times in a 45-20 win two weeks ago.

"The last two years we couldn't put too much pressure on the quarterback," Carr said. "But these kids have grown up."

The line's emergence has been huge as Michigan's young offense continues to develop.

"They're a lot more mature now," Askew said. "And that's definitely going to help us out."

Instead of relying on their offense to score enough points to keep them in the game the way they did last season, this year's Wolverines are starting to resemble the rugged, defensive-minded Michigan teams of the past.

"We knew in spring ball that the defense was going to be the strength of this team," Foote said. "You can't win championships without a good defense."

And you can't have a good defense without a good line, something the Wolverines apparently no longer have to worry about.