Penn State Review #9: Illinois

Talk about dominance! Penn State would handle the Fighting Illini easily winning this one 39-0.

Review 

After Illinois went three and out to start the game, Penn State would do the same. On their following drive, Penn State went 80 yards in 8 plays to take a 6-0 lead on a 5 yard pass from Hackenberg to Godwin. Joey Julius’ extra point was blocked. The following drive by Illionis resulted in a 42 yard interception by Troy Reeder, and it only took Hackenberg one play to find Geno Lewis for the 6 yard score. Again, Julius’ PAT was blocked. The second quarter was a quiet one except for a 42 yard field goal by Tyler Davis who replaced Julius. 15-0 Penn State at the half. The second half started with a Koa Farmer kick return to the Illini 43 yard line. After getting to the Illini 14, Hackenberg pitched to Nick Scott who threw it back to Hackenberg who caught it for a touchdown! The score is 22-0 at this point. Later in the third, Tyler Davis hit a 28 yard field goal to make it 25-0. Early in fourth, Saquon Barkley took a direct snap and leaped over a defender for a 7 yard touchdown. The score is now 32-0 and most of the second string has come into the game. Penn State would add a late touchdown on a 20 yard Mark Allen run. That would be it for the scoring as Penn State pitches a shutout 39-0.

Last Thoughts

This was without a doubt Penn State’s best game of the year. Hackenberg was great going 21-29 for 266 yards and 2 touchdowns to go along with the creative receiving score. Saquon Barkley added another highlight when he leaped over a defended from 4 yards out for a touchdown. Barkley had 84 rushing yards and 58 receiving yards.  The defense played unbelievable only allowing 37 rushing yards and 167 total yards and more importantly zero points allowed. Carl Nassib and Anthony Zettel added sacks. Troy Reeder’s interception helped turn the momentum of the game and the Lions never looked back. The one issue was Joey Julius, he had two PATs blocked and had two kickoffs go out of bounds. Tyler Davis would replace him and hit 2 field goals and 3 PATs. This was a great performance heading into a tough game at Northwestern next week. Hackenberg is playing at a very high level right now, moving around and finding the open guy. The defense who had some questions to answer, did so in a dominant fashion. The team is now 7-2 with three games left. If they keep this up, it could be an exciting finish.