No. 9 Penn State defeats No. 19 Illinois and wins 21-7 in the Nittany Lions’ Big Ten opener

No. 9 Penn State likely faced a test in its Big Ten opener when it hosted No. 19 Illinois on Saturday. The Fighting Illini entered the matchup with a big win over the then-No. 22 Nebraska in Lincoln, improves to 4-0 and looks to be a possible factor in the conference race.

If this was a test, the Nittany Lions passed it with a 21-7 win at State College. The night game at Beaver Stadium was not officially a white out (that will be Nov. 9 against Washington), although fans were dressed in white for the nationally televised prime-time matchup.

However, coach James Franklin called for “white-out energy” Saturday night, and how Illinois responded in that environment could indicate how well the rest of the season could go. The results weren’t particularly impressive.

Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer followed up his four-touchdown performance against Nebraska with passes for 185 yards and completing 16 of 25 passes with a score and an interception. That one turnover might have cost the Illini the game – or at least a chance to tie the game.

Trailing 14-7 with six minutes left in the fourth quarter, Illinois faced a fourth-and-six from its own 48-yard line. But Altmyer was picked off by Penn State’s AJ Harris, who ran the ball back 51 yards for an apparent touchdown. But the score was wiped off the board by an illegal blocking penalty from Zion Tracy.

However, the Nittany Lions finally scored, capping an eight-play, 41-yard drive with a five-yard TD run by Kaytron Allen. Allen rushed for 102 yards on 18 carries, while Nicholas Singleton added 94 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries to lead a rushing attack that totaled 239 yards.

With so many yards on the ground, Penn State QB Drew Allar didn’t have to post big numbers. He completed 15 of 21 passes for 135 yards. Harrison Wallace III and Tyler Warren each had four balls totaling 84 yards.