Penn State 56, Illinois 21: What We Learned from the Lions' 4th Straight Win
With a four-game win streak, a certain bowl invitation if they wanted one and Christmas at home lingering in their minds, Penn State voted Saturday to end its season after a 56-21 victory over Illinois.
Ultimately, Penn State finished the second with four straight victories and 42 unanswered points against the Illini. Penn State and Illinois traded punches through an entertaining first half, during which the roster-challenged Illini actually led 21-14 at point. But the Lions (4-5) overwhelmed Illinois, totaling 580 yards of offense and leaving the season at that.
Before getting to what happens this offseason, let's recap an entertaining night at Beaver Stadium.
-Receiver Jahan Dotson took a simple receiver swing 75 yards on the game's first snap for Penn State's longest offensive play of the season. It started another career night for the junior, and also a manic first quarter.
Dotson had five catches for 183 yards by halftime, with touchdown catches of 75 and 70 yards. Granted, Dotson was playing against a secondary missing three starters but still was uncatchable in the open field.
His 70-yarder was highlighted by a superb head fake.
-Dotson appeared poised to break Deon Butler's school record for receiving yards in a game (216) but caught only one pass in the second half.
-Quarterback Sean Clifford graduated Saturday, certainly becoming the first Penn State quarterback to throw a touchdown pass on the same day as his commencement. Clifford no doubt benefited from Dotson's YACability but also settled into a bit of a groove running a tempo offense in the second quarter, completing four consecutive passes before being sacked.
Clifford moved through his reads a bit better, spread the ball across the field (he completed passes to eight players in the first half) and generally looked more confident. That was a good sign, considering he fumbled on the offense's second series.
-Senior Lamont Wade, who also graduated Saturday, did something even more rare. He became the sixth player in Penn State history to return a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. The last was Chaz Powell in 2010.
Before the season, Wade approached special teams coordinator Joe Lorig with his high-school return film and asked for a look on kickoffs. He has been involved all season but took a larger role the past two weeks with Devyn Ford unavailable.
-This game was haywire from the start, as the teams combined for 42 points in the first quarter. Penn State led 14-7 before running an offensive series with more than one play. And Illinois then took a 21-14 lead, capitalizing on a Sean Clifford fumble to score a touchdown. The Lions have allowed 65 points off turnovers this season.
-But as it has done often this season, Penn State's defense righted itself after a shaky start. Illinois totaled 198 yards of offense and three touchdowns on its first four series, breaking the Lions with big plays from quarterback Isaiah Williams.
But after that, the defensive line generated some heated pressure, and the linebackers showed better pursuit. Illinois punted 10 times and fumbled after its third touchdown drive, as linebacker Brandon Smith, end Shaka Toney and tackles Antonio Shelton and PJ Mustipher really asserted themselves.
-Smith really has begun realizing his potential at linebacker. He was all over the field, making eight tackles (three for losses) and recovering a fumble. His tackle pursuit is something to behold.
-Penn State certainly missed All-Big Ten tight end Pat Freiermuth this season, but its young talent at the position made a real impact of late. Redshirt freshman Brenton Strange and true freshman Theo Johnson were active players in the passing game, with Strange scoring his first career touchdown on terrific fourth-down effort.
Strange, lined as an H-back in the short-yardage package, could have been stopped for loss after catching a Will Levis swing pass. But he pushed off the tackle and dived for the score.
-Penn State's comeback player of the year has to be offensive lineman Juice Scruggs. Having missed two years of football following a 2019 car accident. Scruggs has become a real asset to the offensive line. Watch his drive block on Will Levis' fourth-down touchdown in the first half.
