Four Downs: Four takeaways from Penn State's 30-13 win over Illinois
The Penn State Nittany Lions improved to 3-0 on Saturday afternoon with a 30-13 win over the Illinois Fighting Illini. It wasn't always pretty for the Nittany Lions, but all in all, it was a quality first-road win of the season.
Below, Happy Valley Insider takes a look at four takeaways from the win.
First Down: Drew Allar is, in fact, human
After two strong performances against West Virginia and Delaware, Drew Allar struggled on Saturday against Illinois. The sophomore completed just 16-of-33 passing attempts for 208 yards. Allar missed several open wide receivers throughout the game but also struggled with the constant pressure Illinois was getting on him, especially in the first half. It's a performance that he should be able to make corrections from. None of his issues are unfixable or should be of significant concern, but it will be a tape that he'll want to bury under the practice field afterward. He probably could've made his day a little easier, but these things are expected in a first-career road start, especially against a program with strong defensive minds like Illinois.
Second Down: Penn State's defense continues to impress
Was it perfect? No. Is there quite a bit to clean up? Yes. That said, it was another positive performance for Penn State's defense. The Nittany Lions kept Illinois to 354 yards and 4.8 yards per play on Saturday. Again, not great numbers, but solid numbers. Most importantly, the Nittany Lions had seven tackles for loss, three sacks, and five turnovers in the win. Illinois showed flashes of success but rarely had sustained success from drive to drive on Saturday, a big reason that despite making the game close before halftime, the Illini never felt truly in this one.
The run defense kept Illinois to just 2.1 yards per carry, while the Illini's passing attack averaged 6.6 yards per attempt. Out of Illinois's 292 passing yards, 129 came in the fourth quarter against mostly Penn State backups. Through three-quarters of action, Illinois was kept to just 163 passing yards. Again, it was not a perfect day for Penn State's defense, but it was a quality performance.
Third Down: The offensive line has an ugly performance despite the stats
Penn State's offensive line was supposed to be a strength entering this season, but it was far from a strength on Saturday. The Nittany Lions were getting pushed around up front quite a bit in the win, especially early on, before settling down in the second half. Olu Fashanu had an especially tough day, struggling in both pass protection and run blocking. Center Hunter Nourzad also had a tough day against Jer'Zhan Newton, who dominated the game on Saturday. Newton finished with six tackles, including one tackle for loss, two pass breakups, and two quarterback hurries. Truly, all across the board, the Nittany Lions had suboptimal performances from their offensive line. Illinois only had one sack in the game, but Drew Allar felt consistently under pressure.
Fourth Down: Penn State may have found themselves a kicker
It was a quality day for place kicker Alex Felkins, who was three-for-four in his opportunities on Saturday. Felkins made field goals from 20, 28, and 45 yards. He had a 52-yard field goal blocked. Throughout his opportunities, Felkins looked calm, cool, and collected; he bounced back from the blocked field goal, making a chip shot from 28 yards out on his next opportunity from the right rash, which can be tricky at times.
After a rocky first half for Sander Sahaydak against West Virginia, Felkins has brought consistency to the position since the second half of week one. Penn State will need him to continue that level of play going forward.
--------------------------------------------------------------
• Subscribe to our YouTube Channel