No. 9 Penn State survives myriad of mishaps to grind out win over No. 19 Illinois

STATE COLLEGE — At multiple points throughout Saturday’s 21-7 win over Illinois, Penn State seemed greatly at risk of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

The No. 9 Nittany Lions were stout defensively, almost completely shutting down No. 19 Illinois on the ground, but a host of mishaps and mistakes prevented them from securing their win until very late in the fourth quarter.

Kicker Sander Sahaydak missed two 40-yard field goals, Penn State surrendered momentum back to Illinois with a failed fourth-down try late in the third quarter and a pick-six was negated due to a penalty in the fourth.

Those misfires kept Illinois alive, but the Fighting Illini were unable to capitalize.

Quarterback Luke Altmyer threw his first interception of the year in the fourth quarter, was sacked seven times and the Illini were held to only 34 rushing yards on 32 attempts.

“Overall, I’m really, really happy with our guys,” said coach James Franklin. “That is a good football team. You’ve got to give Illinois and coach (Bret) Bielema a ton of respect.”

The game was tied 7-7 at halftime with Penn State going up 14-7 early in the third quarter.

That score held until Kaytron Allen scored a 5-yard touchdown with just under two minutes to play, cementing Penn State’s win in front of 109,911 fans at Beaver Stadium.

Allen finished with 18 carries for 102 yards, while Nicholas Singleton added 94 yards on 16 touches.

“That game really played out for a long time the way Illinois wants the game to go,” Franklin said. “They want a one-possession game. They want to keep it tight.”

On the night, the Nittany Lions (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) imposed their will on the ground, rushing for 239 yards and three scores.

Drew Allar played largely mistake-free football, going 15 of 21 through the air with 135 yards and no touchdowns.

“This is definitely big for us because we’re going to need to find ways to win games in different types of fashions throughout the year,” Allar said.

The game began inauspiciously for Penn State, as Altmyer led his team downfield for an 11-play, 75-yard game-opening touchdown drive.

But the Nittany Lions responded quickly on their own first possession with Tyler Warren capping an eight-play, 75-yard drive by going airborne into the end zone on a direct snap from the 3-yard line, tying things up at the 5:34 mark.

With about five minutes remaining in the second quarter, a 40-yard field goal try by Sahaydak was no good.

Immediately following Penn State’s shanked field goal, Illinois (4-1, 1-1) took over with 4:56 left and found a bit of momentum on the ground for the first time on the night, as Feagin burst through the line of scrimmage for a 34-yard gain to the Nittany Lions’ 43-yard line.

Soon thereafter, an unnecessary roughness penalty on Penn State’s Jalen Kimber gave the Illini a fresh set of downs at the 13-yard line.

But at the 2-yard line, things went south for Illinois following a bad snap over the head of Altmyer and a rush stuffed in the backfield that created a third-and-goal from 14 yards out.

Illinois settled for a 45-yard field goal try, but it was no good with 44 seconds remaining in the half.

In the second half, Penn State took a 14-7 lead by scoring a touchdown on its opening possession, with Singleton doing the honors from 4 yards out to complete a 12-play, 74-yard drive.

Towards the end of the third quarter, Franklin made a bold choice, opting to go for it on fourth-and-3 from the Illini 17-yard line.

Allar, facing pressure off the edge, fired the ball to Julian Fleming, who made a catch but was dragged down less than a yard from the chain, resulting in a turnover on downs.

Thankfully for Penn State, its defense stepped up, sacking Altmyer twice on Illinois’ ensuing possession, preserving the 14-7 lead with just under 13 minutes to play.

“That’s what we do. We take care of our offense just like they take care of us,” said defensive tackle Zane Durant. “First opening drive, we gave up seven and (the offense) came back (and scored) seven. We had to get their back whenever they needed it.”

Sahaydak’s second missed field goal of the night with 8:57 to go once again gave Illinois a chance to get back into the game.

After an Illini fourth-down conversion near midfield was negated due to a false start, Altmyer threw an interception to A.J. Harris with six minutes to go.

Harris took it to the house, but the touchdown was called back due to a Zion Tracy block in the back.

Instead of being up by two touchdowns, the Nittany Lions began a drive at the Illinois 41.

Allen found the end zone a few minutes later, eating up time off the clock in the process, as Penn State went up 21-7 with just under two minutes left.

Illinois mounted one final drive with 1:55 to go, getting to its own 47-yard line, but Abdul Carter sacked Altmyer on third-and-long, forcing a fumble that Penn State recovered to formally close things out.