Highs & Lows: Illinois

Penn State finished its regular season with a 56-21 win against Illinois Saturday night.

Doing so was far from easy, though.

Despite opening the game with an immediate 75-yard scoring strike from Sean Clifford to Jahan Dotson, the Nittany Lions quickly found themselves in a back-and-forth battle with an Illinois team playing without 17 players and its head coach. Still, managing to shut out the visitors after the first quarter, Penn State improved to 4-5 on the year with an opportunity at a bowl berth.

We break down the highs and lows from the game, here:

PLAYER OF THE GAME Who else but Jahan Dotson? Announcing himself from the game’s onset, Dotson wrecked the Illini all night to the tune of six receptions for 189 yards and two scores, plus a 50-yard punt return. Though he wasn’t as much of a factor once the Nittany Lions built a comfortable lead, he dominated when it was closer.

PLAY OF THE GAME Dotson wasted no time making his mark on the Lions’ win against the Illini Saturday night. Running a simple hitch route, the junior wideout burned his man for a 75-yard, unabated trip into the end zone on Penn State’s very first play from scrimmage. It gave the hosts a 7-0 lead.

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BEST PASS It wasn’t one of Penn State’s three passing touchdowns, and didn’t even lead to points, but Sean Clifford’s connection with Cam Sullivan-Brown for 14 yards at the end of the first half wins the category. With the pocket collapsing, Clifford hit Sullivan-Brown in a tight window for the first down pickup.

BEST RUN There were more impressive carries on the Nittany Lions' 253-yard rushing night, but Will Levis’ gritty fourth-and-goal touchdown from the 3-yard line was a crucial moment for the Nittany Lions in the first quarter. Evening the score at 21-all, it was a must-make situation and Levis came through when it counted.

BEST CATCH Penn State had lots of possibilities for this category Saturday, but Keaton Ellis’ first-quarter interception of Brandon Peters wins the category. On a ball thrown without an Illini in the vicinity, Ellis made an all-out dive and came up with the pick at the Nittany Lions’ 6-yard line.

BEST SACK On Illinois’ first possession of the second half, Penn State defensive tackle P.J. Mustipher notched his first sack of the 2020 season when he brought down Isaiah Williams for a 6-yard loss on third down. Antonio Shelton’s third-quarter forced fumble, knocking the ball loose on an Isaiah Williams sack, also gets a nod here.

BEST HIT Penn State sophomore linebacker Brandon Smith took an untouched route to Mike Epstein on a second-and-9 in the second quarter and made the most of it, blowing up the Illini running back for a 2-yard loss.

BEST EFFORT What else can you do but tip your cap to an Illinois program - particularly its players - for producing at least the first-half performance it did Saturday night given the circumstances? Down a head coach and its top receiver who opted out, plus another 16 players, for the last game of the season, with little in the way of obvious motivation, the Illini made the Nittany Lions get serious in the first quarter.

Also, Brenton Strange’s leaping third-quarter touchdown was all effort, first shedding a would-be tackler than launching himself across the goal line.

BEST KICK Blake Hayes’ 42-yard line-drive punt wasn’t particularly pretty early in the fourth quarter, but it pinned the Nittany Lions at their 6-yard line and was his third of the game inside Penn State’s 15.

BEST RETURN Lamont Wade’s career as a return man got too late of a start. Taking Illinois’ second kickoff of the game back out of his end zone, the senior safety utilized a nice block from Parker Washington, cut toward the sideline, and went 100 yards the other direction for a touchdown to give the Nittany Lions a 14-7 advantage. Jahan Dotson’s 50-yard punt return to open the second quarter gets a nod here, too, helping set up the Nittany Lions’ go-ahead score by Caziah Holmes a couple of plays later.

BEST DECISION Sticking with it. Penn State will have plenty to stew over in the off-season, whether it accepts a bowl invitation or not, but the difference between mailing it in and maintaining program-wide development is likely to be monumental in the next eight months. Humbled by the 0-5 start to the season, the bottom line is that four wins to close the campaign (at least) will provide the positive reinforcement the program needs to feel good about the work it puts in during the coming weeks and months after a deserved and much-needed break.

WORST DECISION The sideline tackle on Keyvone Lee by Illinois’ Derrick Smith late in the third quarter was inadvisable, at best. Ejected from the game on a correct targeting call, Smith not only gave Penn State a new set of downs, but he also ensured that he’ll sit for the first half of Illinois’ first game to open the 2021 season.

MOST TELLING MOMENT The enthusiasm on Penn State’s sideline throughout the game was a testament to more than just the Nittany Lions’ resilience this season. Able to turn around an 0-5 start to the year, to not only reel off four wins to end the regular season but to do so with so much enthusiasm and fun sets the stage for brighter days ahead.

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