Penn State (6-5, 2-5 Big Ten) dropped its final true road game of the year to Illinois (5-6, 2-5 Big Ten) by a score of 16-14 at Memorial Stadium.
The Nittany Lions opened the game against Illinois with an 18-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Christian Hackenberg to freshman wide receiver Chris Godwin in the first quarter, but could not spark a sustainable offensive moment through the rest of the game.
Penn State’s two costly mistakes in the first half gave Illinois the momentum to take the lead early in the third quarter and ultimately take the game. First, a special teams fumble by Chris Gulla on a field goal attempt in the first quarter denied Penn State a 10-0 lead. In the second quarter, an early jump by defensive tackle Anthony Zettel gave Illinois a new set of downs, leading to a touchdown to tie the game at seven points apiece and end the half.
Illinois opened the third quarter with a 28-yard field goal by David Reisner after just 2:34, taking a 10-7 lead. From there, both teams would trade possession back and forth without a score to wrap up the first 45 minutes of play.
The fourth quarter started with a bang; running back Akeel Lynch made a quick cut to rush a largely unchallenged 47 yards to collect a touchdown for Penn State with 13:37 left, giving the Nittany Lions a 14-10 edge.
Illinois slowly battled its way back; backup quarterback Reilly O’Toole marched his team up the field during the second half and set up the field goals that won the game for Illinois. Reisner went 3-4 in field goal attempts; his final kick from 36 yards with eight seconds remaining in the game lifted the Illini over the Lions for a final score of 16-14.
Ultimately, it was an inept offense that cost Penn State the win. The Nittany Lions gained only 244 yards through the game, and 137 were from Lynch. During the postgame conference, Penn State head coach James Franklin recognized that the offensive line was still struggling.
“We’ve probably been asking for this all year long with the way we’ve been playing, and it finally caught up to us.”
Penn State will wrap up its regular season with Senior Day against Michigan State at Beaver Stadium next week with a 3:30 kickoff.
Photo Credit: GoPSUSports.com
