Penn State gets ugly win against Illinois, 21-7
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UNIVERSITY PARK -- There will be plenty to talk about for Penn State coach James Franklin and his staff after a lot of disappointments on an impromptu Whiteout night on Saturday at Beaver Stadium.
No one will ever call it pretty, but it was still a 21-7 victory over No. 19 Illinois in front of 109,911 fans.
For starters, the kicking situation is a mess. There are also definite holes in the pass defense.
But it was still enough as the Nits rushed for 239 yards, including 102 yards from Kaytron Allen and 94 more from Nicholas Singleton.
Drew Allar passed for 135 yards and completed 15 of 21 passes.
The Illini struck first on their first drive with a 4-yard TD pass to tight end Carson Goda from quarterback Luke Altmyer for the game's first score.
A popular choice last week with the Wildcat, regular tight end Tyler Warren lined up as the quarterback and got PSU on the board with a 3-yard rush on their first drive.
PSU sustained a nice drive in the middle of the second quarter, but was unable to get any points out of it as Sander Sahaydak missed a 40-yard field goal with 4:56 remaining in the first half.
Late in the first half, Illinois had first-and-goal from the 2, but a PSU tackle for loss, an intentional grounding, and a false start backed them up for a 45-yard field goal. The kick was missed to keep the game tied at 7, which remained at halftime.
Penn State got everything it needed on the first drive to start the second half. It resulted in a 12-play, 74-yard drive that was capped by a Singleton 4-yard touchdown run.
PSU had a big call late in the third quarter to go for it on 4th-and-3 and went for it, but Allar's pass to Julian Fleming was short by a yard. Had they kicked a field goal, it would have been about a 35-yard field goal with a chance to go up two possessions.
With a chance at redemption in the fourth quarter, Sahaydak once again missed from the same 40 yards that he missed in the first half to keep it 14-7.
The PSU defense got a big shot in the arm from AJ Harris, who intercepted Altmyer with 5:50 left in the fourth quarter. Harris returned it for a touchdown, but it was called back on a block in the back penalty.
The Lions still finished the drive, however, on a 5-yard TD run by Allen to seal the victory.
Penn State (4-0 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) will have its final of four straight home games next week against UCLA for a noon kickoff on FOX. Illinois (4-1, 1-1) will have a bye week before hosting Purdue on Oct. 12.
The Mirror will have full coverage in Monday's edition.