It was so close.

After he blew past the Lousiana Tech offensive line and knocked the ball out of quarterback Luke McCown's hand, Penn State defensive end Michael Haynes picked up the football and looked up to find out he was 15 yards from every defensive player's dream.

There was nothing but green grass with white stripes between him and paydirt.

However, as he got to the five, he realized there was something behind him, and that something brought him down.

Three measly yards away from the end zone.

Though Nittany Lions linebacker Derek Wake was also behind him, he didn't block Bulldogs running back Joe Smith, who jumped on Haynes's back to keep him from scoring.

"I picked it up, I felt Wake behind me," Haynes said.

"I'm like, 'Wake's behind me, I got end zone. Wake's behind me I got end zone. I'm getting tackled. Why am I getting tackled?' I just hit the ground. I'm just like, 'Oh this is going to suck. When I get to the sideline, everybody's going to tease me.' And sure enough, that's what happened."

Haynes was able to laugh it off. Tailback Larry Johnson took care of the other three yards on the next play for his second touchdown run and his third score overall on the day to give the Lions a 49-17 lead they would not relinquish.

He still took the opportunity to throw a dig Wake's way.

"[Practice drills] helped me to pick the ball up, but not only that, we also practice blocking for other people, and Wake evidently missed that part of practice," Haynes said.

Defensive tackle Anthony Adams was also behind Haynes, but Haynes didn't notice until the 293-pounder jumped on him in celebration when he was on the ground.

"I was just like, don't jump on me. Please don't. Think about it, it takes a whole lot of energy to hold a guy up. Especially a guy that's 300 pounds. Give me a high five, tap me on a shoulder. I like that. Just don't jump on me."

However, Adams wanted Haynes to notice him a little earlier.

"I don't even want to talk about that," Adams said.

"I was right behind him. I was hollering his name, told him to just pitch it back to me. I would have taken him out to dinner or something."

The fumble recovery capped another solid game for Haynes, who also had a sack in the second quarter, four tackles, and a pass deflection. Haynes leads the conference with four sacks, equaling his total from last season.

The performance earned him Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors, following cornerback Rich Gardner, who won the award last week.

The Lions' defensive game plan included using Haynes to defend screen passes, of which there were many on Saturday.

In the second half, however, the Lions' coaching staff determined that it would be best to get more pressure on McCown.

"As the game unfolded, we realized I'm not going to get to the screen," Haynes said. "So the coaches were like, 'You know what, change plan, just pass rush. Do what you do best.' It allowed me the freedom to go inside, outside and just do whatever I wanted. I like that. If you tell me just get to your quarterback, I'm going to find a way to get to him."

The quarterback in question certainly found that out.

"They list him at 6-3, 280, but he looks about 6-5, 300 on the field," McCown said. "Super nice guy, after the game. When we're on the field, he's one of the best defensive ends or linemen I've ever seen."