No. 9 Penn State comes away with win over No. 19 Illinois to remain unbeaten
Penn State’s defense put together its second-best performance of the year in front of a rocking crowd Saturday night at Beaver Stadium.
Penn State kept its undefeated status after showing out in Saturday’s 21-7 win over No. 19 Illinois.
Despite plenty of penalties and two missed field goals, Penn State’s defense held Illinois to seven points despite allowing 32.3 points per game.
The low-scoring affair remained close until the finals minutes, where the Nittany Lions were able to get the game-sealing touchdown and move to 4-0.
Whiteout energy
The stands were rocking, the band was striking, Beaver Stadium was alive.
The official attendance was announced at 109,911, and each of the hundreds of thousands of fans brought the “Whiteout energy” James Franklin asked for.
The atmosphere that’s notorious for disrupting opponents’ rhythms was evident against the Fighting Illini as the crowd forced a timeout followed immediately by a false start by Illinois’ offense.
“We thought the fans have seven impactful [plays],” Franklin said after the game. “It’s like nothing in college sports.”
Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer also missed snap, false start, and intentional grounded that backed Illinois from the two-yard line to the 27, where kicker David Olano missed a 45-yard field goal.
It was the last chance Illinois had in scoring territory.
Explosive run game
Legendary running back Ki-Jana Carter and the 1994 Penn State team was in attendance for Saturday’s game — it seems like Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen took notice.
From start to finish, the running back duo pounded the Fighting Illini with explosive runs, as Singleton totaled 94 yards on the ground and Allen finished with 102. Both backs crossed the end zone, but they weren’t the only rushing touchdowns.
“You’ve got to give credit to the line,” Singleton said. “I don’t get no runs without them.”
Tight end Tyler Warren joined the two on the ground party, getting a snap and leaping into the end zone for Penn State’s first touchdown of the game.
Defense shows out
There were plenty of questions about Penn State’s ability to finish at the quarterback, those were erased on Saturday.
Penn State totaled seven sacks, and the kicking woes were nullified by defensive stops, including a late interception by cornerback A.J. Harris. Harris had a pick-6 initially, but it was called back by a block in the back on cornerback Zion Tracy.
Junior defensive end Abdul Carter totaled 3.5 tackles for loss, a strip sack, and swatted down a pass lined up at his former linebacker position.
Despite playing its toughest opponent, Penn State’s defense put forth its second best performance of the year.
“The key was doing our job,” linebacker Kobe King said. “What they did to us my freshman year in 2021 — we didn’t want to happen again.”