Cam Miller, Abdul Carter, Daequan Dixon and Johnny Hardy had interceptions and No. 7 Penn State took advantage of five turnovers by Illinois to beat the Illini 30-13 Saturday.
The Nittany Lions (3-0, 1-0 Big Ten) overcame a sub-par effort by Drew Allar, who completed just 16 of 33 passes for 208 yards, and the offense. The second-year quarterback connected on 78% of his passes in his first two games.
Luke Altmyer was intercepted four times before he was benched, and running back Josh McCray lost a fumble for Illinois (1-2, 0-1), which has lost two straight.
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Penn State took the ball away three times in the first half, but had trouble getting into the end zone, settling for a 16-7 lead on three field goals by Alex Felkins and a 4-yard touchdown run by Kaytron Allen.
Illinois closed the gap to 13-7 on a touchdown run by Reggie Love, who bulled his way into the end zone from five yards out. Love’s TD was set up by a blocked field goal by Jer’Zhan Newton.
Penn State pulled away in the second half, scoring on a halfback pass from 11 yards out from Trey Potts to Tyler Warren and Nick Singleton’s 16-yard run that made it 30-7 early in the fourth quarter.
THE TAKEAWAY
Big Ten
Penn State: Penn State has scored 30 or more points in 10 straight games, the longest streak in the country. Give credit to the Nittany Lions’ defense for keeping the streak alive.
Illinois: Five turnovers isn’t a recipe for beating the No. 7-ranked team in the country. Neither is falling behind for the third straight game.
UP NEXT
Penn State: The Nittany Lions play host to Iowa next week.
Illinois: The Illini will end their non-conference schedule next week when they host Florida Atlantic.