Illinois dominates Penn State 33-13

Illinois 33 - Penn State 13

Penn State had no answer for an Illinois running game that racked up 282 yards and the Nittany Lions offense failed to generate anything of their own. Penn State quarterback Robert Bolden threw for 142 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and running back Evan Royster was the Lions leading rusher with 11 carries for 35 yards. Illinois held the ball for 38:12 of the ballgame compared to Penn State’s 21:48 and the Illini had 437 total yards to Penn State’s 235.

GAME FLOW

Penn State took the lead with a 28-yard field goal by Colin Wagner, which held throughout the first quarter. Illinois answered in the beginning of the second quarter with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Nathan Scheelhaase to get them the 7-3 lead. Mistakes hurt Penn State in the second quarter when Robert Bolden threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown to give Illinois a 14-3 lead. Penn State answered immediately after the interception with an 80-yard touchdown pass from Bolden to Derek Moye to make it 14-10. Illinois hit two more field goals in the second quarter, and Penn State added one to head into the locker room with Illinois leading 20-13.

Illinois dominated the second half, adding another touchdown and two more field goals en route to the 33-13 final. 

OFFENSE

On the ground: Penn State’s running game totaled for only 65 yards, with the leading rusher being Royster with 35 yards on 11 carries.  The longest run of the game was 8 yards by Rosyter. 

Through the air: Bolden was the leader of the offense with 142 yards on 8-of-21 passing. He had the 80-yard bomb touchdown to Derek Moye, but also had a very costly interception that was returned for a touchdown. Without the touchdown Bolden only threw for 62 yards. Kevin Newsome came in to quarterback late and had 28 yards on five pass attempts.

DEFENSE

Penn State’s defense had no way of stopping the Illinois offense. The Illinois rushers ran for 282 yards in the game. Mikel LeShoure ran for 119 yards on 27 carries. They had four players that ran for more than 40 yards each. The defense could not stop the running attack but were able to have two fumble recoveries.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Collin Wagner had two field goals in this matchup and was 2-for-2 his longest being a 28-yarder. Punter Anthony Fera punted six times in the game landing one inside the 20-yard line, his longest being 53 yards. Chaz Powell three kick returns for 82 yards.

GAME BALL

Illini QB Nathan Scheelhaase was the player of the game throwing for 151 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions. He also Illinois’ second leading rusher running for 61 yards on only eight attempts. 

UP NEXT

Penn State takes on the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers at the TCF stadium in Minneapolis in two weeks on Saturday October 23.