Penn State wins Big Ten opener, 30-13, over Illinois

CHAMPAIGN, ILL – Penn State football (3-0, 1-0 Big Ten) took down Illinois (1-2, 0-1 Big Ten), 30-13, on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium. The Nittany Lions played complimentary football on both sides of the ball, fueled by five defensive takeaways, to move to 3-0 on the season.

The defense led the way for the Nittany Lions, recording its first five-takeaway game in seven years. Penn State racked up four interceptions—by four different players—and a fumble recovery. Offensively, the Nittany Lions scored 20 points off of the five turnovers. Stout defense held the Illini in check all day, as the opposing rushing attack gained just 88 yards on the ground in the game.

Dominic DeLuca and Zakee Wheatley tied for the team lead with six tackles apiece. DeLuca also forced the first fumble of his career, the first of the Nittany Lions’ five takeaways. Linebacker Abdul Carter, and cornerbacks Johnny Dixon, Daequan Hardy, and Cam Miller each secured interceptions as the defense created havoc throughout the game for the Illini.

On offense, quarterback Drew Allar posted yet another turnover-free outing, going 16-33 for 208 yards. Penn State’s running backs were involved in all three offensive touchdowns on the afternoon. Kaytron Allen (13-54-1) and Nicholas Singleton (11-37-1) each recorded rushing scores, while Trey Potts tossed a touchdown pass to tight end Tyler Warren for the third and final touchdown of the day.

Singleton led the Nittany Lion receiving corps with three grabs and a career-best 49 yards through the air, with tight end Warren (3-35-1) and wide receiver Liam Clifford (1-33-0) complimenting his effort.

Penn State began the day on defense and forced an opening-drive missed field goal by the Illini and took possession of the ball at the Penn State 29-yard line. The Nittany Lions made their first splash play of the day on their next defensive drive as DeLuca forced a fumble that was picked up by Kobe King to give the ball back to the offense, this time at the Illinois 43-yard line.

The Nittany Lions took the ball 40 yards on nine plays for a field goal for the first score of the game, going up 3-0 on the Illini with 5:27 to play in the opening quarter.

Penn State’s defense forced its second turnover in a row with an interception by Carter, the first of his career. Carter picked off Luke Altmyer at the Penn State 45-yard line and returned the ball back to the Illinois 37-yard line, giving the Nittany Lion offense outstanding field position once again. Alex Felkins knocked through a 45-yard field goal to increase the Nittany Lion lead to 6-0 with under two minutes remaining in the opening quarter.

The Nittany Lion defense recorded its third turnover in the first quarter on the Illini’s next drive. Hardy picked off an Altmyer pass at the Penn State 43-yard line and the offense proceeded to use 12 plays to march 57 yards down the field for its first touchdown of the ballgame. Allen punched in the four-yard score at the 11:04 mark of the second quarter.

Reggie Love put the Illini on the board with a five-yard touchdown run with 2:08 left to play in the half. Illinois constructed an eight-play, 68-yard drive for the score to cut the Nittany Lion advantage to 13-7.

The Nittany Lions were able to tack on an additional field goal before halftime to go up 16-7 at the break. Allar found Clifford on a 33-yard strike to the 11-yard line to set up the Felkins field goal.

Penn State’s defense made its presence felt right away in the second half. On Illinois’ first possession, Dixon intercepted Altmyer at the Penn State seven-yard line, recording Penn State’s fourth turnover of the game. Dixon returned his first interception of the season 21 yards back to the Nittany Lion 28.

Both defenses stood tall through the first ten-plus minutes of the quarter before the Nittany Lions were able to break through for their second touchdown of the afternoon to go up 23-7 at the 2:14 mark of the frame. Running back Potts caught a lateral from Allar and tossed an 11-yard touchdown pass to the tight end, Warren, capping off a seven-play, 68-yard scoring drive with some trickery.

On the ensuing Illinois possession, the Nittany Lions intercepted Altmyer for the fourth time, this time by Miller. Miler’s pick at the Illinois 30-yard line preceded the Nittany Lion offense’s third touchdown of the game. Penn State wasted no time, scoring in just over a minute of game clock on a Nicholas Singleton 16-yard rushing touchdown capping off the three-play drive. The two-straight scoring drives saw the Nittany Lions go up 30-7 with 14:24 left to play in the game.

Illinois found the end zone one more time in the game, scoring on a 19-yard reception by Malik Elzy from quarterback John Paddock at the 4:21 mark of the fourth quarter. A failed two-point conversion left the score at 30-13. The Nittany Lions earned the win by a final score of 30-13.