Penn State forced five turnovers as it grinded out a 30-13 win over Illinois at Memorial Stadium Saturday afternoon.
After a missed 47-yard field goal by Caleb Griffin and a Josh McCray fumble recovered by Kobe King on Illinois to start the game, PSU got on the board first when Alex Felkins converted a 20-yard field goal to cap off a nine-play 40-yard drive that featured an 18-yard catch and run by Nicholas Singleton and a Tyler Warren for 13 yards.
On the ensuing possession, Abdul Carter intercepted a pass from Luke Altmyer that led to a 45-yard field goal by Felkins.
On the next Illinois possession, Daequan Hardy recorded an interception from Altmyer on the third play of the drive.
PSU led 6-0 at the end of the first quarter.
On the ensuing possession, Kaytron Allen scored a three-yard touchdown that took 12 plays and 56 yards that started to tire out the Illinois defense to put Penn State 13-0.
PSU was in position to score on its next drive, but Felkins missed a 52-yard field goal.
Illinois took advantage with a five-yard run by Reggie Love that capped off an eight-play 68-yard drive that featured a 28-yard reception.
Felkins kicked a 28-yard field goal at the end of the first half on a drive that was highlighted by a 33-yard reception by Liam Clifford.
PSU led 16-7 at halftime.
After a PSU punt to begin the second half, Illinois had a promising drive that was halted by a Johnny Dixon interception.
Penn State and Illinois exchanged punts after the turnover, however, Penn State broke through on a touchdown on a pass from Trey Potts to Warren on a two-yard touchdown pass to cap off a seven-play, 68-yard drive highlighted by a 27-yard run by Allen and a 19-yard reception by Singleton.
Penn State was up 23-7 at the end of the third quarter.
After another interception towards the end of the third quarter, Penn State put the game out of reach with a 16-yard touchdown by Singleton putting Penn State up 30-7.
Illinois scored a garbage-time touchdown when Malik Elzy caught a 19-yard touchdown from John Praddock.
Penn State will host Iowa in its “White Out” game next Saturday’ while Illinois will take over Florida Atlantic next Saturday.
Twitter: @bwalkerdadon
