Penn State’s defense forced five turnovers and the offense overcame some struggles as the No. 7 Nittany Lions put away Illinois 30-13 on Saturday in Champaign.
After taking a 16-7 lead into halftime of its first road contest of the season, Penn State (3-0, 1-0) pulled away in the second half, keeping the Illini (1-2, 0-1) off the board until late in the fourth and putting together some offensive momentum as the game wore on.
Sophomore quarterback Drew Allar, making his first road start and first Big Ten, wasn’t as sharp as his first two outings, but was 16-for-33 for 208 passing yards and avoided turnovers. After Penn State had the game in hand early in the fourth, Allar got the rest of the afternoon off and Beau Pribula led the offense the remainder of the way, rushing for 47 yards and going 0-3 passing.
Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton shared the load at running back, rushing for 54 and 37 yards, respectively, and one touchdown each.
Defensively, the Nittany Lions’ five turnovers included four interceptions and a forced fumble.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Illinois got off to a strong start with a behind running back Reggie Love III and a couple of first down passes by quarterback Luke Altmyer. The Illini stalled, though, at the Penn State 29 and came away with no points after Caleb Griffin missed a 47-yard field goal attempt.
Penn State did nothing on its first drive and punted after a three and out. Illinois was soon on the move after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and an eight-yard pass, but Nittany Lion linebacker forced a fumble on a Josh McCray run and Kobe King recovered to give Penn State the ball back at the Illini 43.
It looked as if the Nittany Lions had righted the offensive ship as passes from Drew Allar to Nick Singleton for 18 yards, Malik McClain for 6 and Tyler Warren for 13 got Penn State down to the Illinois 2. But runs for no gain and a loss of 1 sandwiched a pass that went through Kaytron Allen’s hands in the end zone. Penn State settled for an Alex Felkins 20-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead.
Illinois’ next drive ended with the second of what would be three consecutive turnovers as linebacker Abdul Carter picked off an Altmyer pass and returned it to the Illini 27. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Illinois set Penn State up at the 22, but again the Nittany Lions couldn’t get to the end zone. After a three and out, Felkins connected on a 45-yard field goal to extend the lead to 6-0.
Daequan Hardy intercepted Altmyer at the Nittany Lion 43 on Illinois’ next drive and finally Penn State would convert the takeaway into a touchdown.
An Allar pass to KeAndre Lambert Smith went for 18 yards after some nice moves by the receiver to pick up extra yards as the first quarter ended. The sophomore QB didn’t see a wide open Lambert-Smith downfield on the next play, but Penn State continued to methodically move the ball. Allen capped the 12-play, 57-yard drive by dragging a defender into the end zone for a four-yard touchdown run as Penn State took a 13-0 lead.
Illinois went three and out and Penn State again moved into Illini territory, but a personal foul penalty against Lambert-Smith turned a third and 2 into a third and 17. After an incomplete pass, a 52-yard Felkins field goal attempt was blocked by Illinois’ Johnny Newton.
The Illini took advantage. Altmyer hit Pat Bryant for a 16-yard gain then connected with Ashton Collins, who found a soft spot in coverage downfield, for a 26-yard reception. Three plays later, Love ran over two Penn State defenders on his way to a five-yard touchdown run and Illinois narrowed the deficit to 13-7.
Penn State and Illinois traded punts in the final two minutes and the Nittany Lions got the ball back with 42 seconds left. After a couple of Allar runs, the quarterback threw a perfect pass down the sideline to Liam Clifford, who got a step on his defender and made an over the shoulder catch for a 33-yard gain. An incompletion with five seconds left set up Felkins for a 28-yard field goal as time expired, and Penn State took a 16-7 lead into the locker room.
The Nittany Lions went three and out to open the second half, and Illinois looked like it might capitalize. A 32-yard pass from Altmyer to Isaiah Williams got the Illini to the Penn State 25, but on the next play Johnny Dixon intercepted an Altmyer pass at the 7 for the fourth turnover of the day and returned it to the Nittany Lion 28.
Penn State and Illinois traded punts on each of their next two possessions, and the Nittany Lion offense started to get in a rhythm late in the third quarter. Allar connected with Singleton, who got the edge for a 19-yard gain into Illini territory, and Allen burst free for a 18-yard run. On first down from the Illini 11, Allar pitched to Trey Potts who threw a halfback pass to an open Warren in the end zone. With Felkins’ PAT, Penn State opened up a 23-7 lead with 2:14 left in the third.
Facing third and long from its own 18, Illinois turned the ball over for the fifth time on its next drive. Cam Miller picked off an Altmyer pass at the Illini 30 for Penn State’s fourth interception of the afternoon.
The Nittany Lions opened the fourth with a 13-yard pass from Allar to Dante Cephas, and Singleton followed with a 16-yard run off the right side for a touchdown. Early in the final frame Penn State held a 30-7 lead, and Beau Pribula subbed in at quarterback to lead the offense the remainder of the way.
Illinois tacked on a score with 4:21 remaining in the game, with backup QB John Paddock leading an eight-play, 58-yard drive against Penn State’s second-team defense. A two-point attempt failed, and Penn State held on to the 30-13 lead the rest of the way.
Penn State returns home next week to face Iowa at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the White Out game.
