Last weekend may have been the Penn State offensive line’s finest hour, at least for the season.
Not only did it manhandle Illinois’ defensive line for a large part of the game but it cleaned up a lot of penalties that have plagued the rest of the team for the first four games.
The only penalty that the offensive line was responsible for came from Drew Shelton — a false start on the first play of the second half. It was only Shelton’s second penalty of the season.
“All things considered, the fact that we had three guys that are playing in the NFL right now off last year’s team, I think (we’re playing) very well,” Penn State coach James Franklin said at his weekly presser Monday.
On top of cutting down the penalties, the offensive line was also largely responsible for Penn State’s ground game churning out 239 yards against the Illini.
“We were able to run the ball and do it in a very physical way,” Franklin said. “It’s not only the O-line, but it’s also the running backs. There were some punishing runs from Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen and Tyler Warren, as well.”
Guard Vega Ioane said he could feel the Illinois defensive line wearing down as early as the second quarter.
“It didn’t seem like they wanted to try anymore,” Ioane said. “It’s a good feeling. We’re playing our hardest at 100 percent, and we notice our opponents don’t want to play anymore. That makes us want to go even harder.”
“You can kind of just see it naturally happening,” QB Drew Allar said. “I think the O line takes great pride in making that happen. They’re a super-physical group up front. To see that was a really good sign.
“I’ve told the O line, ‘We go as they go.’ Whether it’s pass protection or run protection, they’re the catalyst for our offense. The skill positions get most of the glamor, but our offensive line has been phenomenal the first four games.”
Franklin has said that penalties are making situations harder than needed, and also said Monday that the Illinois game probably isn’t as hard as it was with fewer penalties.
“In general, we have to get better,” Franklin said. “We shouldn’t have to have a setback.”
