A two-touchdown win against an opponent that was 4-0. It took Penn State about 45 minutes to gain control of the game against Illinois on Saturday night, but the Nittany Lions were clearly the better team with a 21-7 win.

Kudos to PSU’s running game and a defense that held off the Fighting Illini’s ground attack and chased Luke Altmyer all over the field.

It wasn’t perfect, but the undefeated Lions find different ways to win. Judging by their reactions, PennLive’s Penn State SMS subscribers agreed.

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In conclusion, I can say that the O-line is doing a much better job. They will still face challenges in the next few weeks. Drew Allar missed a few shots, but the throw to Omari Evans was nice. I’m excited about Kaytron Allen’s big night.

In fact, the Allar completion you refer to went to Harrison Wallace III. The stadium announcer made a mistake. Evans had no catch. As for Allen’s play, he was a problem for the Illinois defense from his first attack. It looked like the Illini defenses were desperate to attack Allen (102 yards) in the second half.

The defense was disruptive again after halftime and adapted well. Abdul Carter was a beast the entire game. We have to find a reliable kicker and we can’t beat ourselves with penalties. I suspect both of these things will come into play at some point against better competition. Andy Kotelnicki stuck with what worked Saturday and gave credit to the offensive line, but where were the deep shots we were so used to? I think Drew Allar played a little tight and would have liked to see them make plays and maybe see a few QB keeper off-zone reads that seemed completely open. All in all a good win against a well-trained and motivated team.

I think when Penn State wins a game like they did against Illinois, it sends a statement to the rest of the conference. This is a physical offense when it wants to be, and PSU can also create explosive plays on the edge in the passing game when the defense doesn’t have a deep safety. The Illini invited PSU to pass the ball, and the Lions did just that. While I thought it would have been a good idea to get Omari Evans involved in the passing game, the offensive game plan was to put the ball down the Illini’s throat was the right decision. Abdul Carter gets called for a penalty every now and then, but watching him terrorize offensive tackles time and time again is an indication of what a special talent he is.

Hey, Bob! I sit in parking lot 12 and wait for the traffic to move. I thought the first drive of the third quarter was the best drive PSU has put together in a long time. Good mix of running and passing, making holes on the O-line, running into Backs guts, ate up half of the third quarter. When was the last time we saw this? The next ride started well, but I didn’t like how it stalled. I got to the Illinois 30 and then the play call became questionable. Trying on fourth down seems to indicate that Franklin has confidence in the defense but no confidence in the placekicker.

I completely agree with your comment about the first drive in the third quarter. Penn State’s offense’s possession of the ball was one of the keys to the win. Twelve plays (eight carries), 74 yards, capped by a touchdown run by Nicholas Singleton. It ended in a 7-7 tie and Andy Kotelnicki continued to rely on the running game from then on. And yes, Penn State has a pretty big problem with placekickers.

I found the offensive game plan very interesting. Few down-the-field balls, maybe just one? It seemed like they wanted to beat Illinois at their own game. It was strange to see only seven points on the scoreboard at halftime. The defense needs to be more disciplined. I love Tyler Warren for the Heisman!! The guy can do everything.

The Illinois defense played with a safety deep on many occasions and it was clear fairly early on that PSU could do a lot of damage with the run game if it remained patient. I thought the offensive line was impressive and continued to push the Illinois front around even after guards Sal Wormley and JB Nelson left the game.