Four Nittany Lions who stood out in Penn State's 30-13 win over Illinois
The Penn State Nittany Lions opened up Big Ten play on Saturday afternoon in Champaign, Illinois, with a 30-13 win over the Illinois Fighting Illini. The Nittany Lions survived a sluggish first-half performance by the offense before using a much better second half to pull away from the Illini.
K Alex Felkins
The kicking game has been a huge discussion point over the season's first two weeks. Since taking over for Sander Sahaydak in the second half of the season opener, Columbia transfer Alex Felkins has been solid. He was 3-for-4 on Saturday against Illinois, with his only missing being a blocked field goal from 52 yards. Other than that, Felkins made field goals from 20, 28, and 45 yards against the Illini. He is now 4-for-5 on the season. He has also made all 14 extra-point attempts.
DT Coziah Izzard
After missing the first two games of the season, Coziah Izzard returned on Saturday and made an impact as the game went on. He helped keep Illinois to just 2.13 yards per carry while recording two sacks. The junior defensive tackle will be a big piece for the Nittany Lions as the season progresses, especially as they enter the heart of conference play.
LB Dominic DeLuca
DeLuca had a strong performance against Delaware, which included a pick-six in the second half. On Saturday against Illinois, the former walk-on carried over that strong play with six tackles, including one tackle for a loss. He also forced a fumble early, which was recovered by Kobe King, who had a strong game himself with four tackles, one tackle for a loss, and one fumble recovery.
RB Nicholas Singleton
Finding a fourth player of the game is challenging; you could probably go with a few Nittany Lion defenders, but we'll go with Nicholas Singleton. He didn't have a great day on the ground, just 11 carries for 37 yards, with 16 of them coming on a touchdown run, but he was also the Nittany Lions' most productive receiver. On the afternoon, Singelton had three receptions for 49 yards. Overall, the sophomore tailback had 86 total yards on 14 touches. If Penn State can get Singleton more involved in the passing game in the future, that would add a whole other dynamic to this already dangerous offense.
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