After early blip, Penn State's defense stands tall in win over Illinois
What began in disaster for Penn State’s defense Saturday night ended in delight.
Battered for 21 points in the opening quarter by Illinois and its redshirt freshman quarterback Isaiah Williams, the Nittany Lions’ defense turned what looked like a potential shootout into a one-horse race.
Penn State did not surrender another point, while its offense kept marching toward a 56-21 win. It was the first time all season the Nittany Lions held their opponent off the board for three-straight quarters.
“Once we were able to outnumber them in the box and be a little bit more consistent in our gap responsibility and try to make them one-dimensional, that helped us,” head coach James Franklin said.
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Forced to abide by a bend-but-don’t-break style for much of the season, Penn State’s defense shedded that descriptor in favor of sheer dominance on Saturday.
The Nittany Lions allowed 74 total yards after the end of the first quarter, conceding just four first downs. After Williams threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Barker with 6:10 remaining in the first quarter, Illinois punted 10 times, fumbled once, and — perhaps mercifully — watched the first-half clock run out before their offense could take the field after a missed Penn State field goal.
There were some subtle schematic adjustments.. Franklin hinted postgame that the Nittany Lions had been preparing primarily for Brandon Peters, who played only sparingly Saturday — not Williams. That likely played a factor in the early hiccup. But there was no singular moment that turned this game on its head, no lesson learned or doubt eliminated.
Instead, there was a collective deep breath, Keaton Ellis said, and a reliance on what these Nittany Lions always seem to turn to when things aren’t going as they should.
“We look at it as a mentality,” Ellis said. “You’ve got to get your mind right. Put anything that’s happened before in the past. We turned the tide and we finally shut it down and started playing really good defense, and didn't give up the big plays. We found ourselves, and we were able to hold them for very little.
“We weren’t playing as aggressive and fast as we have been. We started to settle down and started playing the defense that we had been playing.”
The turnaround itself showcased a sense of resiliency that has abounded from a Penn State team that started 0-5 and is now 4-5. But the Nittany Lion defense formed a brick wall without first-team All-Big Ten defensive end Jayson Oweh, as well as promising redshirt freshman corner Joey Porter Jr.
“Just like a lot of programs in the country right now, we are razor thin,” Franklin said.
The depth, in this case, stepped up. Penn State’s pass rush, which collected three sacks, didn’t seem to miss Oweh. And Ellis, in Porter Jr.’s absence, came away with an early interception to end a promising Illinois drive that could have made the first quarter even worse for the Nittany Lion defense.
Perhaps the slow start followed by a strong finish can be considered metaphoric when placed in the context of the season as a whole.
Penn State began the season by allowing 30 or more points in five consecutive games — all losses. In those contests, the Nittany Lions allowed, on average, about 360 total yards. Since, Penn State has held its opponent under 20 points three times in four games, with opposing offenses averaging about 288 total yards.
The turnaround didn’t come as quickly as some would have liked, but for the returners among Penn State’s defensive players, it gives them some tangible momentum to bring into the 2021 season.
“As a defense, we’re just playing a lot more free, and not really worrying about making mistakes,” linebacker Brandon Smith said.
“I would definitely say for a fact that we can conquer anything we put our minds to,” Smith added. “We dealt with adversity many ways, from players getting injured to things just not adding up in general. Now looking at what we were able to do, when we actually do what we want to do, it’s a beautiful thing. I’m definitely confident in next year and definitely looking forward to it.”
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