UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Disruptive is the best word to describe Penn State defensive tackle Jared Odrick.

The 6-foot-5, 296-pound senior has become the centerpiece of Penn State's front four, now that pass-rushing specialist Aaron Maybin has moved on to the NFL.

Odrick, a first-team All Big Ten Conference pick last season, was a big part of a dominating defense that limited Akron to 186 yards offense (158 passing, 30 rushing) in the non-conference opener last weekend.

The Zips did not advance past their 29-yard line in the first half, with six punts and an interception, and didn't pick up their initial first down until the third quarter.

Odrick had four tackles, including two for losses, and he teamed with backup defensive end Kevion Latham on a sack. The Nittany Lions' defense compiled 13 tackles for losses on just 54 plays.

"We really came out and did what we wanted to," Odrick said. "We had the offensive line guessing on how we were going to attack. We came out wanting to dominate and not taking no for an answer. We played a whole lot faster than they did."

No. 7 Penn State (1-0) will be looking for another dominating performance from Odrick and the defense today when Syracuse (0-1) and quarterback Greg Paulus visit Beaver Stadium.

"[Odrick is] a really good football player," coach Joe Paterno said. "He's a hard worker, a tough kid who's got a lot of athletic ability. ... He's the kind of guy who makes some other people good because he works so hard."

Paulus, the former Duke point guard, will be making just his second career start. His only interception last week was costly, enabling Minnesota to escape with a 23-20 overtime win against the Orangemen.

Paulus completed 19 of 31 passes for 167 yards and one touchdown, but he was only 7 of 14 for 39 yards in the second half.

"We need to get after him right from the get-go," said Odrick, who played basketball against Paulus in high school. "We need to pressure him and try to confuse him."

Against Akron, Odrick was double-teamed several times, which allowed his teammates to make some plays and pressure quarterback Chris Jacquemain.

Redshirt junior defensive tackle Ollie Ogbu had six tackles, including 2 1/2 for losses. Sophomore right defensive end Jack Crawford had two tackles for losses and a sack in his first start, and redshirt sophomore left end Eric Latimore had one tackle for loss and a sack in his debut.

"We felt confident," said Odrick, who had 41 tackles and 4 1/2 sacks last season. "We were really able to get some stunts off in the first half. We were really able to put some pressure on [Jacquemain] and then try some different stuff in the second half."

Penn State sat in two-deep coverage quite often in the opener, which is not necessarily a great defense against the run.

"But when you have a defensive line that plays like ours, you do that," outside linebacker Sean Lee said. "Guys like Odrick and Ogbu and Jack Crawford really dominated the game for us. That's why we played so well."

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NOTE -- Penn State redshirt junior outside linebacker Navorro Bowman will miss today's game, a source said. He re-aggravated a groin injury on the second series last week against Akron and did not return. He will be replaced in the starting lineup by redshirt sophomore Nathan Stupar, who had a team-high 12 tackles and one sack in relief of Bowman a week ago.