Illini ‘pissed’ after passing up opportunities at Penn State

The Illinois Fighting Illini knew they were on the verge of continuing their strong start to the season.

They played well enough to win, but missed too many chances. The fact that they felt like they could have won makes things even more disappointing.

“We didn’t play enough to win the game, so we’re obviously upset,” linebacker Dylan Rosiek said. “I think we have to go in there, look at ourselves in this bye week and figure it out.”

The Illini missed a chance to upset the No. 9 Nittany Lions after losing 21-7 on the road. Quarterback Luke Altmyer was sacked six times and threw his first interception of the game. Perhaps the most disappointing moment was the Illini failing to score points after a 1st-and-goal at the 2 in the first half.

Altmyer was sacked for a loss of 12 yards on the first two plays. The drive ended with David Olano missing a 45-yard field goal and the score tied at 7. That was a momentum killer because the teams were playing evenly at that point before Penn State broke through in the second half.

“It was like a one-score game the whole game,” defensive back Miles Scott said. “I felt like we were there the whole time until they got two points ahead. We have to find a way to create takeaways. We have to do a better job of getting the ball to our offense.”

Shandel Richardson is the editor of Illinois Fighting Illini On SI. He can be reached at [email protected]

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