Central Michigan quarterback Kent Smith can thank Cincinnati quarterback Dustin Grutza for the not-so-warm reception he received from Penn State's defensive line on Saturday. The Chippewa quarterback was harassed, profusely, by a group of down linemen who'd finally gotten fed up with failing to bring down the quarterback.

"I think, in the back of his mind, he knew we were coming," defensive end Tamba Hali said.

Hali, if anyone, has been snakebitten the most when it came to finishing off sacks so far this season. Penn State football coach Joe Paterno has mentioned Hali's name in the same breath with some of the great defensive ends that have played here. In his mind, it was only a matter of time before he had a breakout game.

"Tamba Hali does not get enough credit," Paterno said. "I was yelling all day at the referee about holding because they hadn't blocked him yet."

Despite the holding accusations, Hali managed to record a career best 2.5 sacks on the day, by far his most productive showing this season.

"The down guys did a better job, and we worked hard last week at not letting the quarterback run around and open up some passing lanes," Paterno said. "We made it tougher on him to find people downfield."

Overall, the Lions defense finished the day with eight sacks, the most they've recorded since they had eight against Michigan State in 2000.

Hali attributed the defensive success to changes in practice. The defense was given the green light to hit the scout team quarterbacks last week.

"Normally we never hit the quarterback in practice," Hali said. "Coach said ... we gotta hit the quarterback. We have to practice as we play."

Junior defensive tackle, Jay Alford, credited with two assisted sacks, suggested the Lions had prepped specifically for Smith all week. Because of the success that Grutza had at escaping the pocket last week, the line's primary goal was to contain Smith.

"It's all about looking at tape at the beginning of the week, we knew he's a pretty big guy, a little thin, but he's about 6-foot-5 and he sees the field pretty well," defensive tackle Scott Paxson said. "Once he sees the pressure coming, he's not afraid to take a hit, everyone just played their gap."

Paxson said Hali's mere presence on the field causes him to get double-teamed often, but he has all the necessary tools to overcome that.

"When we go watch film, it's funny because you key in on yourself first, then you'll key in on the defense. So I'm like all right 'I took off pretty quick that play,' then I look at Tamba and I'm like 'Aw, man, I didn't take off at all, did I?' " Paxson said.

"You compare yourself to him, that dudes motor is just, unreal. He raises the bar."