Jimmy Kennedy claims he and Anthony Adams have a love-hate relationship.

Sure, and the Pope's no longer on speaking terms with God.

If Kennedy is still living with Adams, and Adams' rhyming alter-ego Goldy, after four years, you'd think he would be used to Adams' late-night antics.

But there was Kennedy in the media room after Penn State's 35-14 win over Virginia, mildly complaining about Goldy keeping him up until midnight Friday night.

"Unfortunately I have to deal with Anthony at night, for instance last night he came in acting like Goldy and I'm just like, 'Anthony, can we play tomorrow,' " Kennedy said. "It's definitely a love-hate relationship, if he comes up there acting like Goldy all night, I'll definitely hate him."

Uh-huh. For two guys that are such good friends (they were together their first day on campus when Kennedy met his future fiancée Rashana Barnes), you'd be surprised how differently perceived a little thing like a 285-pound rapper can be.

"I think Goldy gets him hyped and pumped up for the game," Adams said. "I don't think there were any setbacks after listening to Goldy."

The shocking thing isn't that the pair of tackles are such good friends despite the constant ribbing but that the defensive line gets any work done at all. Just try and imagine what one of their meetings must be like. In Kennedy, Adams and defensive end Michael Haynes, line coach Larry Johnson Sr., has three of the biggest talkers on the team sitting right in front of him.

Between the constant parade of one-liners these guys march out in post-game interviews and the suits Adams wears, ranging from Detroit Green to red pinstripe, with Carolina blue sweater combination thrown in on Saturday, the unit is easily the most flamboyant on the team. When reporters want quotes on anything, ranging from what their opponents were saying in the second quarter to who screwed up for Penn State, these are the guys that fill their notebooks.

Aside from being funny, they're honest. When the Lions came out flat against Iowa, Kennedy called them out on it. Haynes did the same thing to hero Chris Harrell, who missed a pair of key tackles against the Hawkeyes but has become a key part of the defense since. At the time, some of Kennedy's comments didn't play well in the media, largely because his numbers alone weren't going to blow anybody away.

But things weren't going well for the defense as a whole and nobody was in much of a joking mood. Even Haynes, who answers every question with the pep of a casino greeter, wasn't spending much time trying to keep the laugh track rolling.

What a difference a dominating performances makes. Since the Lions shut down Northwestern, no opponent has been able to build any serious attack against Penn State and a lot of that credit goes to the Three Wise Men up front.

Adams and Kennedy are pressuring, and knocking down, opposing quarterbacks like they didn't earlier in the season while Haynes continues his assault on the single season sack record.

And don't even thinking about running the ball up the middle because nobody has had success at it (yes, Ohio State's Maurice Clarrett would have made things very interesting had he not been injured, but he was injured).

So now that they've earned the right, what more do you expect out of this group of seniors -- one of whom, Kennedy, could have gone pro after last year -- to do but talk some more? Aside from the on-field chatter Saturday, like Haynes telling Virginia's freshman tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson he should have been redshirted, they're starting to make noise about being the best in the Big Ten.

Twenty-seven points in four games sounds like a legitimate argument. Even if it wasn't, it's not like anyone could be heard over the big three's jawing anyway.