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PSU defensive lineman acts on the field
Rob Biertempfel is the Pirates beat writer. He can be reached via e-mail. Also check out Biertempfel's blog, Pirates Q&A or follow him on Twitter.
The defensive tackle was a terror in No. 15 Penn State's 34-31 victory. He made six tackles — he began the day with just 13 over the first four games of the season combined — and got his first three sacks of the year.
The monster performance came a week after Kennedy, a fifth-year senior, criticized his teammates and coach Joe Paterno after an overtime loss to Iowa.
After Saturday's game, Kennedy's demeanor was far more subdued.
"It was my day," he said with a shrug. "It wasn't a statement game or anything. Y'all can take it any way you want to."
It might have been just happenstance that Kennedy had a hand in practically every defensive play a week after accusing his teammates of slacking off and making excuses. Or that he turned in a dominating effort after whining about Paterno's oft-stated search for leaders.
It could have been mere coincidence that Kennedy was all over the field Saturday after barely registering a blip on the radar against Central Florida, Nebraska, Louisiana Tech and Iowa.
Or not.
"People have been getting on Jimmy for a month, saying, 'Step up, step up,' " linebacker Derek Wake said. "He came out today and led by example and quieted a couple people."
A day after Kennedy's post-Iowa comments blared from newspapers and the Internet, Paterno tried to shout them down during a closed-door team meeting. None of the players was willing to discuss what Paterno said, an indication the coach's rage was a notch or two above normal.
Paterno offered a sanitized version of the discussion.
"I had heard that Jimmy talked about that he was the leader or something like that," Paterno said. "We talked about that as a squad, that you can't start pointing fingers the minute something goes wrong.
"We're a pretty good football team, but we're never going to get better unless people just play and keep their mouths shut."
When asked what Paterno said in the meeting, Kennedy sounded like Hillary Clinton addressing a Senate investigative committee.
"Right now, I can't remember," Kennedy said with a smile. "I was in my own little world this whole week."
It was not an easy week on "Planet Kennedy."
"I had a lot of things on my mind, as far as my season and how things were going," he said. "There were some things I wanted to bounce back from. But I wasn't losing any sleep over the way I was playing.
"Do I regret anything I said? Not at all. I'm not a guy to bite my tongue. I don't regret anything, and if I had to say it again, I would."
Kennedy came into this season needing seven tackles-for-loss to move into the top 10 all-time at Penn State. Through the first four games this year, he was shut out.
He spent more time two-stepping with offensive linemen, struggling against single- and double-team blocks, than he did making stops. He rarely got close enough to opposing quarterbacks to see their uniform numbers.
While Kennedy floundered, defensive end Michael Haynes emerged as the star of the defensive line. Haynes has racked up 8 1/2 sacks, tops in the Big Ten and among the top three in the nation.
Yet, Iowa had little trouble moving the ball against Penn State's defense. A lot of people — especially folks in Madison — thought Wisconsin was going to do the same.
"When an offensive line comes in saying, 'We're the best, we're the best,' we take that personally," Haynes said. "We're going to show them that they're not."
The Badgers managed only 92 rushing yards Saturday, including a career-worst 46 by tailback Anthony Davis. Quarterback Brooks Bollinger threw for 217 yards but often was scrambling for his life and took a beating.
"Kennedy played a very strong game," Paterno said. "The four down guys did a really good job getting to (Bollinger). What'd we have, three or four sacks?"
Seven, actually. Kennedy and Wake set the tone on Wisconsin's first drive when they dropped Bollinger for losses on back-to-back plays and forced a punt.
"Today, they were doubling Mike," Kennedy said. "I guess they didn't think I was doing anything. I proved them wrong.
"Believe it or not, I can't even tell you how many sacks I had. I was just went out there and played, and things opened up for me. I wasn't saying, 'I can't be stopped.'"
Kennedy paused. There was a rakish twinkle in his eye as he smiled.
"Well, I mean, I do have a certain way of thinking about that … but I'm not going to put it out in the media," he said.
