At times Penn State looked as good as a symphony sounds.
At other times, Penn State looked about as good as a third-grade recorder concert sounds.
When it came to rhythm, there wasn’t much of it on Saturday. But when Penn State found it, the Nittany Lions provided sweet music to their fans with a 30-13 win over Illinois in front of 49,099 at Memorial Stadium in Champaign.
Penn State 30, Illinois 13
Box ScoreNot every game is going to be as smooth and easy as Penn State’s first two of the 2023 campaign were. But a little adversity is a good learning lesson to experience in what will look like a blow-out win when we look back at this game after the season.
The offensive side of the box score, well, isn’t pretty.
The sophomore QB making his first start on the road looked like a sophomore making his first start on the road. The running game wasn’t as impressive as it had been in previous weeks.
The receiving game probably took a step back this week, albeit without the No. 2 receiver playing in Harrison Wallace.
But on the defensive side of the ball, Penn State was sharpest it’s been to date.
It allowed one meaningful touchdown, one garbage time touchdown with the second- and third-strings playing and most notably, created five turnovers.
Penn State picked off Illinois’ Luke Altmyer four times, including twice in the first half, to keep the Nittany Lions’ offense ahead on the scoreboard.
It was the same offense that sputtered to get started in an 11 a.m. local time kick where Penn State is 3-4 all-time in that situation under James Franklin entering the game. For the first time this season, Penn State didn’t score a touchdown on its opening drive and didn’t find the endzone until its first drive in the second quarter.
But it was a stretch in the third quarter when the rhythm picked up the tune and carried the Lions. Drew Allar completed two sharp throws to Nicholas Singleton and Theo Johnson, before Kaytron Allen ripped down the sideline for 18 yards. That run was followed up by transfer Trey Potts throwing a pass to Tyler Warren for six.
The tempo picked up again thanks to an interception from Cam Miller, setting up good field position and 16-yard run by Singleton for another score.
It was in that three-drive stretch that Penn State sealed the deal.
All of that clunkiness in the first half had been erased and the orchestra conducted by James Franklin went out on a high-note, once again scoring 30-points in its third win to start the season.
On a day with some interestingly close games that probably shouldn’t have been elsewhere in the country, Penn State was patient with itself enough to find the right notes again and win.
Penn State overcame crucial drops by Allen, Malik McClain and others. It also overcame not-so-smart – and some questionable – penalties from the likes of its leaders in KeAndre Lambert-Smith, Olu Fashanu and Dvon Ellies.
It even overcame a block field goal to clearly declare a winner in the kicking race in Alex Felkins, all while adding two nice returns from Kaden Saunders and Singleton on punts and kickoffs respectively.
Most importantly, for the first time all season, Allar looked a tad human in a season when he has looked video game-like otherwise. He was just 16-for-33, failed to record a touchdown for the first time this season and only racked up 208 yards through the air. He may have missed a throw here or there, especially a wide open Lambert-Smith at one point.
But he still hasn’t thrown that first pick.
He didn’t really do anything of concern on Saturday, just didn’t do much to wow. What he did do though was keep things calm. Once he found the beat, so did the offense. The running game started to work well, the passing game started to click. The music returned to its usual tune for 2023.
It will, no doubt, be a week of addressing what didn’t go right – even if nothing went wrong – for the offense.
But it will also be a week of building for a defense that looks the way we thought it would entering the season.
Maybe in other years, Penn State flounders in a 16-7 at half situation. But the lack of rhythm on the offensive side was replaced by the music of Penn State’s aggressive, star-studded defense.
And that’s what good football teams do. Each aspect of the game keeps the other on beat.
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