GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NCAAF: PENN ST (3-1) at ILLINOIS (3-1)

NCAAF: PENN ST at ILLINOIS

<div class="pre">NCAAF FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
PENN ST (21) 10 7 3 0 20
ILLINOIS 14 7 3 3 27 FINAL

PENN ST-FG, K Kelly 26 YD 5:27 1st Qtr
ILLINOIS-TD, A Benn 90 YD KICKOFF RETURN (J Reda KICK)
5:40 1st Qtr
ILLINOIS-TD, R Mendenhall 2 YD RUN (J Reda KICK) 12:57 1st
Qtr
PENN ST-TD, D Williams 24 YD PASS FROM A Morelli (K Kelly
KICK) 14:18 1st Qtr
ILLINOIS-TD, A Benn 29 YD PASS FROM J Williams (J Reda
KICK) 4:26 2nd Qtr
PENN ST-TD, A Scott 7 YD RUN (K Kelly KICK) 6:06 2nd Qtr
ILLINOIS-FG, J Reda 47 YD 2:22 3rd Qtr
PENN ST-FG, K Kelly 20 YD 8:51 3rd Qtr
ILLINOIS-FG, J Reda 33 YD 8:00 4th Qtr


PENN ST ILLINOIS
First downs 18 17
Rushed-yards 36-129 38-216
Passing yards 298 120
Sacked-yards lost 4-20 0-0
Return yards 21 2
Passes 21-38-3 11-27-2
Punts 4-48.3 6-33.3
Fumbles-lost 3-1 1-0
Penalties-yards 4-20 4-43
Time of possession 33:27 26:33


Individual Statistics

RUSHING: PENN ST-Rodney Kinlaw 16-66, Austin Scott 12-52, Derrick
Williams 2-20, Anthony Morelli 6-MINUS 9. ILLINOIS-Rashard Mendenhall
18-76, Eddie McGee 2-58, Juice Williams 7-37, Russ Weil 2-18, Brian
Gamble 2-14, Arrelious Benn 5-9, Daniel Dufrene 1-6, - Team 1-MINUS
2.

PASSING: PENN ST-Anthony Morelli 21-38-298- 3. ILLINOIS-Juice Williams
11-24-120- 2. Eddie McGee 0-3-0- 0.

RECEIVING: PENN ST-Jordan Norwood 3-89, Derrick Williams 5-79, Deon
Butler 4-48, Chris Bell 1-37, Andrew Quarless 2-25, Terrell Golden
1-10, Rodney Kinlaw 2-6, Matt Hahn 3-4. ILLINOIS-Arrelious Benn 6-84,
Rashard Mendenhall 4-27, Jacob Willis 1-9.


Att: 57,078</div>

 

CHAMPAIGN, Illinois (Ticker) -- Thanks to its defense,Illinois is off to a 2-0 start in the Big Ten Conference.

The Fighting Illini forced four turnovers in the second half -including three interceptions - to hold off 19th-ranked PennState, 27-20, on Saturday.


Illinois (4-1, 2-0 Big Ten), which defeated Indiana last week,has won its first two conference games for the first time since1991.


"Two years ago, that was the low point," Illinois coach Ron Zooksaid. "I still had the feeling all that first year that wejust had to stay the course. We haven't turned it around, butwe have made progress."


Juice Williams was 11-of-19 for 120 yards in the first half,helping the Illini grab a 21-17 halftime lead.


Freshman Arrelious Benn returned a kickoff 90 yards for atouchdown and caught a pass for another score in the first halffor Illinois.


But the Fighting Illini's offense was virtually non-existentafter scoring 21 points in the first half. Williams was benchedearly in the fourth quarter after going 0-of-5 in the secondhalf.


Still, the defense yielded only three points in the second half,despite six straight Penn State possessions in Illinoisterritory. Four of those drives ended with turnovers.

Penn State also continues to be plagued by poor red zoneexecution, settling for field goals on its two possessionsinside the 20.


The Nittany Lions have not scored a touchdown on their last fivetrips in the red zone. They managed only three field goals inlast week's 14-9 loss at Michigan.


"To be frank, I really don't know what our problem is," PennState coach Joe Paterno said of the Nittany Lions' red zonewoes. "Obviously, we were very effective down there today. Wecan't throw interceptions and turn the ball over when we aregoing to score."


Kevin Kelly's 20-yard pulled Penn State within 24-20 with 5:55remaining in third quarter, but the Nittany Lions turned theball over on their next four possessions.


"Penn State is a good team, and they're going to yards,"Illinois defensive back Kevin Mitchell said. "We had a couplemiscues, which hurt us. But we started communicating better andwe shut them down."


With 1:11 left in the third quarter, Illinois' Brit Millerinterfered with punt returner Derrick Williams, giving theNittany Lions a first down at the Illini 27.


But linebacker Jeremy Leman preserved the lead with two hugedefensive plays.


On first down, Penn State quarterback Anthony Morelli hitreceiver Andrew Quarless with a perfect pass inside the 5, butLeman stripped Quarless just before he crossed the goal line.Two plays later, Leman intercepted Morelli at the 3-yard line.

"It was my first one (interception) since Senior Night in highschool," Leman said. "The one today felt like it was in the airforever. He (Morelli) lofted it up there."


Penn State reached Illinois' 25 on its next possession, only tohave defensive back Vontae Davis pick off Morelli at the 18.

Eddie McGee replaced Williams on Illinois' next possession andripped off a 52-yard gain, setting up Jason Reda's 33-yard with6:33 remaining.


The Nittany Lions (3-2, 0-2), who moved the ball but could notfinish drives, reached the Illinois 20 on its next possession.

Morelli appeared to pick up the first down on a desperate4th-and-10 scramble with 2:12 remaining, but he fumbled afterdefensive back Justin Harrison jarred the ball loose andIllinois recovered.


Mitchell ended Penn State's last chance with yet anotherinterception inside the 20 in the final minute.


"We didn't play too well in the first half," Leman added."Defense is a funny thing. We just needed to come out with moreenergy. Defense is all about emotion."


Morelli completed 21-of-38 passes for 298 yards for the NittanyLions, who finished with a 427-336 edge in total offense.