Position Levels: Illinois – Black Shoe Diaries

Well, that was a bizarre victory. How do you evaluate a performance in which one team was statistically dominant, but that wasn’t exactly reflected on the scoreboard? Let’s find out!

Quarterback: B

It wasn’t Drew Allar’s best game as he had some throws he would have liked to have returned, but it was efficient enough as he managed the game well and didn’t make any catastrophic errors. On a night when the running game was humming, it was more than enough to get the win. Speaking of which, Beau Pribula ran every time he lined up under center and picked up 17 yards on his three carries.

Running Back: A

From the first drive, it was clear that Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen would compete on the ground against Illinois’ front seven, as both running backs averaged nearly six yards per carry, with Allen totaling over a hundred yards and Singleton coming in a dreadful 94 yards meager. Both also accounted for a touchdown, with Allen’s TD icing the game by giving PSU a 21-7 lead with just under two minutes to play.

Wide Receiver: C

It was a quieter night for the receiving corps, but Tre Wallace led the team in receiving yards with 38 on three catches (including PSU’s longest play from scrimmage of 20 yards). We saw our regular deep ball attempt against Omari Evans, who was able to at least draw a pass interference flag.

Tight End: A

Tyler Warren was once again a jack of all trades. Whether it was catching passes (four for 34 yards), running out of the Wildcat and torpedoing his way into the end zone, or selling the run out of the Wildcat only to hand it off to Singleton at the last second, the Strolling into the end zone untouched, Warren once again did it all and showed why he deserves to be on everyone’s offensive award watch lists.

Offensive line: A

The O-line was in top form last night, especially when it came to opening up running lanes, but they also did a good job of protecting Allar for the most part. There were concerns at the start of the season about how the line-up would hold up after losing three starters including Olu Fashanu, but so far they have been stable and even better.

Defensive line: A-

Penn State totaled seven sacks last night, four of which came from the D-line. Abdul Carter led the way with seven tackles, four for a loss, including two sacks, while Dani Dennis-Sutton forced a fumble late in the game to end any faint comeback hopes the Illini had. Zane Durant has also established himself as an absolute force to be reckoned with as he recorded four tackles, including two for a loss (one sack). Unfortunately there is still too much turmoil from Carter, which once again led to a few offside penalties, so I have to address the negative.

Linebacker: A-

Kobe King was a guy and leader for Linebacker-U last night, totaling seven tackles, including one and a half for a loss and a sack. Tony Rojas also made four tackles, including one and a half for a loss and a sack, although he was also responsible for a bad, unnecessary roughness penalty that gave Illinois the win and score in PSU territory late in the first half. Still, an all-round solid evening from this group.

Secondary level: A-

Jaylen Reed led the team with nine total tackles, including one with a sack. AJ Harris also made arguably the most compelling defensive play of the night, intercepting Luke Altmyer at point-blank range and what could have been a pick-six if not for an idiotic block-in-the-back penalty by Zion Tracy.

Special Teams: D

Look, at this point Sander Sahaydak has accumulated more than enough, so I won’t go there. I just want to add that I hope Ryan Barker or Chase Meyer can make life easier for James Franklin when PSU finds itself in or near the red zone on a 4th down situation, because that would have been a much more comfortable win last night with just a few tacked on field goals. And if Kaden Saunders doesn’t have the green light to do anything other than fair catch punts, then please send someone else out there to help you potentially flip the field position.

Now to end this part on a positive note, Riley Thompson only had to play once last night and he made the most of it with a 48-yard punt.

Coaching: A-

After Illinois made things seem a little too easy on the first score, Tom Allen’s defense adjusted and shut out the Illini for the remainder of the game. Maybe it’s time to realize that the first half against Bowling Green was an anomaly rather than a troubling pattern? Andy Kotelnicki appeared to get out of the running game later in the first half, as the offense passed near the end zone three consecutive times instead of continuing to try to hit the rock, resulting in one of two missed field goals. To Coach K’s credit, he adjusted in the second half and stuck with what really worked.

After Harris’ pick-six was negated by a penalty and PSU was forced to start at Illinois’ 35, the coaching staff conducted a master class in clock management, methodically moving the ball and not making a play until the game clock was less than ten seconds. This allowed them to score a game-winning TD right after the two-minute warning.

(BONUS CATEGORY) White Out…Energy: A+

Not that I ever doubted it, but kudos to all the fans who heeded James Franklin’s call to turn this game into an unofficial White Out. You were loud, you were proud and you kept that energy throughout the game. I’m pretty sure Bret Bielema now knows exactly what the hell he meant by “White Out Energy.”