Abdul Carter has been a game-wrecking piece of Penn State’s defense so far this season. On Saturday, he delivered his best performance to date in a 21-7 win over Illinois.

As a unit, the Nittany Lions racked up 7 total sacks and 13 TFLs while terrorizing Illini quarterback Luke Altmyer. When it was all said and done, Carter ended with a game-high 4 TFLs and 2 sacks.

Carter rounded out his performance with 7 total tackles and also had a forced fumble and a pass breakup. As a result, Carter nabbed a prominent national honor for the win.

The Reese’s Senior Bowl recognized Carter as one of its Defensive Players of the Week.

So far this season, Carter is living up to the hype many expected when James Franklin said the star linebacker was also working out at edge in the preseason. Through 4 games, he is tied for the Big Ten lead with 7 total TFLs and is tied for 4th in the conference with 3 sacks.

With Carter leading the way, Penn State is tied for 2nd in the B1G while allowing just 11.5 points per game. The Nittany Lions have allowed just 5 total touchdowns on the season and are firing on all cylinders as we hit October.