{"id":71314,"date":"2024-09-28T23:34:15","date_gmt":"2024-09-29T04:34:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/highs-lows-penn-state-bullies-illini-in-big-ten-battle\/"},"modified":"2024-09-28T23:34:15","modified_gmt":"2024-09-29T04:34:15","slug":"highs-lows-penn-state-bullies-illini-in-big-ten-battle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/highs-lows-penn-state-bullies-illini-in-big-ten-battle\/","title":{"rendered":"Highs & Lows: Penn State bullies Illini in Big Ten battle"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Nate Bauer<\/em><\/p>\n

Penn State and Illinois locked themselves into a bruising, traditional Big Ten battle on Saturday night at Beaver Stadium. It was hardly the blueprint the Nittany Lions would have chosen, but they executed better than the Illini.<\/p>\n

The result, a 21-7 win for Penn State, improved the hosts to 4-0 on the season with a 1-0 mark in conference play. These are the players and plays that defined the game. <\/p>\n

Highs & Lows: Penn State bullies Illinois in Big Ten battle<\/h2>\n

PLAYER OF THE GAME<\/strong> Penn State might have liked to build a lead early with its passing attack. That wasn\u2019t the personality of Saturday night\u2019s bruising tilt, though. Instead, locking into a ball-control game in which the ground proved to be the Nittany Lions\u2019 most effective path to a win, Nick Singleton<\/a><\/strong> and Kaytron Allen<\/a><\/strong> starred. Singleton finished with 16 carries for 94 yards and a touchdown while Allen put the finishing touches on the win with a 5-yard touchdown to cap his 102 yards on 18 carries.<\/p>\n

PLAY OF THE GAME<\/strong> The play of the game wasn\u2019t one that would make it onto the scoring chart or even a key defensive turnover. Rather, a Singleton chip in the backfield, an excellent reception, and grueling extra effort was the type of remarkable performance that changes outcomes. Facing a key third-and-7 from the Penn State 47-yard line, Singleton pulled in a Drew Allar<\/a><\/strong> jump-pass, then turned a gear into a virtual freight train, running over corner Miles Scott<\/a><\/strong> to secure a first down. The sequence unlocked nine subsequent offensive snaps for the Nittany Lions, with Singleton capping the drive with a 4-yard touchdown to give his side a 14-7 lead and a critical dose of momentum.<\/p>\n

Offensive superlatives<\/h2>\n

BEST PASS\u00a0<\/strong>Facing the worst of circumstances, his team trailing 21-7 with about a minute of football left to play, Altmyer escaped from the arms of Tony Rojas and flicked a pass 21 yards upfield to Hank Beatty \u2014 the nicest throw of the night from either quarterback. The completion picked up a first down and moved the Illini into Penn State\u2019s side of the field. <\/p>\n

BEST RUN<\/strong> Siezing on the flipped momentum of a missed Penn State field goal late in the first half, Illinois\u2019 running back Kaden Feagin<\/a><\/strong> took advantage the next play. Waiting out his blocks on a straightforward first-down carry, Feagin burst through the right side of the Nittany Lion defense to pick up 34 yards and move into the other half of the field.<\/p>\n

BEST CATCH<\/strong> Abdul Carter<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s jump into the neutral zone on second-and-9 of Illinois\u2019 first possession of the game yielded a free play for the visitors. Zakhari Franklin<\/a><\/strong> took advantage. Luke Altmyer<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s bullet was pulled in despite tight coverage from corner Jalen Kimber<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

WORST DROP<\/strong> Hardly the fault of Altmyer, a high snap with the Illini at the doorstep of the end zone in the final minutes of the first half proved influential. A mad scramble for the ball turned up in Illinois\u2019 favor but sent it back to the 11 yard line.\u00a0<\/p>\n

BEST HIT<\/strong> Usually, this category is reserved for the defensive side of the field. Saturday night, Singleton flipped that script. Unloading on a carry up the gut on the Nittany Lions\u2019 first possession of the game, the junior forced Matthew Bailey<\/a><\/strong> to the sidelines with an apparent injury due to the hit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Defensive superlatives<\/h2>\n

BEST SACK<\/strong> Kobe King<\/a><\/strong> started the play in pass coverage. With Illinois in its own red zone facing a second-and-13, a prolonged play from Altmyer\u2019s feet finished with a thud as the Nittany Lion linebacker leveled him. The 3-yard loss forced third-and-16 as the Penn State defense found its footing.<\/p>\n

At the start of the fourth quarter, Zane Durant<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s slip through the Illinois offensive line led to a straightforward sack on Altmyer. The play went for a 7-yard loss. Lastly, Carter\u2019s sack-fumble in the final minute of action erased any doubt over the game\u2019s outcome.\u00a0<\/p>\n

BEST TACKLE<\/strong> Though still in the third quarter, Penn State\u2019s decision to try to convert a fourth-and-3 at the Illinois\u2019 17 felt game-defining. With offensive possessions dwindling for the Illini as the fourth quarter crept closer, Allar\u2019s pass to Julian Fleming<\/a><\/strong> in the flat might have gone for a first down were it not for Scott\u2019s excellent open-field tackle.\u00a0<\/p>\n

BEST EFFORT<\/strong> Facing a third-and-21 following an offsides jump early in the second quarter, Illinois made good on a little flip pass from Altmyer to running back Josh McCray<\/a><\/strong> out of the backfield. Following his blocking on the well-developed play, McCray picked up 30 yards and a first down for his side.\u00a0<\/p>\n

BEST INTERCEPTION<\/strong> Altmyer was hailed for producing 10 touchdowns without an interception through his first four games of the 2024 season. Facing a critical fourth-and-6 in the fourth quarter, though, the Illinois\u2019 quarterback made his biggest mistake of the year, telegraphing a pass straight into the hands of Penn State cornerback A.J. Harris<\/a><\/strong>. The interception return for a touchdown was undone by a block in the back, but virtually assured the Nittany Lions\u2019 win.<\/p>\n

Special teams superlatives<\/h2>\n

BEST KICK<\/strong> Punters on both sides delivered timely, effective attempts in the first half. Opting to punt instead of go from its own 42, Penn State\u2019s Riley Thompson<\/a><\/strong> waited for his bullets to get upfield before hitting a 48-yarder to leave the Illini at their 10. Following the possession, Illinois\u2019 Hugh Robertson<\/a><\/strong> returned the favor with a 49-yard blast to pin Penn State to its 8.<\/p>\n

WORST KICK<\/strong> Sander Sahaydak<\/a><\/strong> was called upon to break a 7-7 tie late in the first half. Lining up from the left hash, the third-year placekicker couldn\u2019t connect on a 40-yard attempt, missing wide left.<\/p>\n

Passed over in the third quarter to give the Nittany Lions a two-possession advantage, Sahaydak landed his redemption opportunity midway through the fourth. It also ended in disappointment, pushing the attempt to the right.<\/p>\n

Wrapping up<\/h2>\n

WORST DECISION<\/strong> The play won\u2019t show up on the stat sheet, but Carter\u2019s jump into the neutral zone on the Illini\u2019s first possession of the evening furthered a point of obvious frustration for James Franklin<\/a><\/strong> to start the season. The infraction was Carter\u2019s fifth in his fourth game since making the move from linebacker to defensive end.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With the game on the line in the fourth quarter, Dani Dennis-Sutton<\/a><\/strong> made the same critical error, giving Illinois two shots at fourth down from midfield.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Neither was worse than a critical mistake by Zion Tracy<\/a><\/strong> trailing Harris\u2019 apparent game-sealing pick-six. Tracy unloaded a block in the back, with Harris on his way untouched to the end zone. His mistake left Penn State with a first-and-10 at the 41-yard line instead of kicking off holding a 14-point advantage.<\/p>\n

MOST TELLING MOMENT<\/strong> With nothing to show for its relative first-half control over Illinois, the Nittany Lions found themselves staring at a 7-point deficit with the Illini owning possession at the 6-yard line with less than two minutes to play. Three consecutive fruitless plays for the Illini, aided by a frenzied Beaver Stadium crowd, forced the visitors into a 40-yard field goal try. By the time the attempt sailed wide left, the home crowd was buzzing.<\/p>\n

Talk about it with our premium members in the Lions Den, here!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Highs & Lows: Penn State bullies Illini in Big Ten battle<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Nate Bauer Penn State and Illinois locked themselves into a bruising, traditional Big Ten…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71314","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71314"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71314\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}