STATE COLLEGE — Penn State's front four looked as fearsome as ever against Eastern Illinois.

At their best, they easily create the game-changing plays that position coach and master recruiter Larry Johnson craves from his players. At no time was that more evident than in the Nittany Lions' 52-3 blowout Saturday.

Linebacker Navorro Bowman was all smiles after his 91-yard fumble return for a touchdown, but defensive tackle Ollie Ogbu that caused the strip of Panthers quarterback Jake Christensen on a sack.

And no matter how many times tackle Jared Odrick gets double-teamed, he finds ways to cause problems. Odrick led the way on the pass rush with two of the team's five sacks.

"You don't want to have a letdown, so you want to coach the same, coach up," Johnson said about preparing his unit for an overmatched FCS school. "No matter who we're playing ... I don't want it to be easy for them. I want to make them work for some goals."

The Nittany Lions (5-1) remained at No. 14 in the latest AP Top 25 poll released Sunday.

NFL fans might better recognize Johnson's son, Larry Jr., a tailback with the Kansas City Chiefs who also starred at Penn State. The elder Johnson, a 14-year veteran of coach Joe Paterno's staff, doesn't speak to reporters often at midseason.

He gets his point across through the way his guys play.

In recent years, Johnson has coached standouts like end Tamba Hali, now with the Chiefs; and Aaron Maybin, who turned a standout 2008 season into a first-round contract with the Buffalo Bills. Jimmy Kennedy and Jay Alford are among other notable pupils under Johnson.

The latest is Odrick, a monstrous 6-foot-5 tackle with a seemingly nonstop motor.