Larry Johnson Sr.'s players did as they were told this weekend, even if their coach didn't completely follow through on his own word.

They helped to account for five sacks, Johnson's pregame goal, with four in the first half, when Johnson wanted to see at least three.

They made a game-changing play -- a sack that led to a 91-yard fumble return for a touchdown -- just like Johnson had expected them to.

And while rapper Jay-Z was performing at the Bryce Jordan Center Friday night, the Penn State players remained in their hotel rooms at Toftrees, the way they do the night before every home game.

But Johnson wasn't there.

Instead, the Nittany Lion defensive line coach was at the concert, a late arrival after receiving several text messages from his kids Tony and Teresa, who were in attendance.

"Hey Dad, Jay-Z is waiting for you to show up so he can say 'Hi' to you. He wants to meet you," Johnson recalled his kids saying. "I said, 'Guys, it's 11:15. I'm ready to check in.' "

Johnson gave in anyway and not long after found himself on the Jumbotron at the BJC, where Jay-Z had pointed him out to the fans.

Of course, word traveled quickly to his players back at the hotel.

And since Johnson told them beforehand he wasn't going to the concert, it made for an interesting Saturday.

"My guys killed me," Johnson joked.

But any frustration the defensive line had from missing the concert was channeled on the field, where it held Eastern Illinois to 59 yards rushing in its 52-3 win.

The front four combined for 7.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 of which came from tackle Jared Odrick.

"Oh boy. Just don't give him a bad name," Johnson said of Odrick. "I'll tell you, he is playing absolutely great right now. ... I'm really tickled to death that Jared's having a great season."

The same could be said of a defensive line that anchors the Big Ten's No. 1 run defense, giving up just 81.8 rush yards per game after Saturday.

Linebacker Navorro Bowman's touchdown, however, was what Johnson had been waiting for all season, and it was made possible because of tackle Ollie Ogbu's sack that forced Jake Christensen to fumble.

"Our goal was to have a game-changing play," Jack Crawford said. "Coming into the game Coach said we have to make an impact, we have to turn the game around as a defensive line, and Ollie Ogbu's sack caused the fumble and changed the pace of the game."

Crawford, a defensive end, said Johnson's pregame goals aren't necessarily warnings but rather measuring sticks to chart his players' progress when everything comes together.

"He doesn't demand it from us," Crawford said. "He just says if we play our hardest we can achieve these goals and he said this is what we should do."

Sacks, however, bring the most satisfaction to everyone on the unit.

The defensive line recorded four of the team's five on Saturday, matching its season-high against Akron in week one, and Crawford said the players sometimes even get into arguments about the statistic.

Such competitiveness is a reflection of the line's leader.

"Coach Johnson as a coach, his pregame speech will get you fired up for anything," Crawford said. "Any opponent, it will get you fired up for."