The Illinois Fighting Illini fell to the Penn State Nittany Lions Saturday night 21-7. Although the loss is disappointing nobody would call it surprising. The loss in “Happy Valley” reflected where the two programs are in the Big Ten hierarchy despite both teams entering with unblemished records. Penn State never ran away with the game but their domination on the line of scrimmage set the tone that Illinois would need a miracle to win.
The Penn State Nittany Lions have been the best of the rest in the Big Ten for a while under Head Coach James Franklin, slotting behind Ohio State and Michigan until this year with the addition of the four West Coast teams. Even though their standing in the conference might be in flux, their style of play and ability to use physicality against inferior opponents is not up for discussion. It was a nice 4-0 start to the season for Bret Bielema’s squad, but they got a lesson in big-time football on Saturday night.
Line Play Sways Big Ten Play
The Penn State Nittany Lions set a tone early that they would control the line of scrimmage against the Illinois Fighting Illini. Sure they have playmakers on offense in the backfield in the form of Quarterback Drew Allar and a tandem of running backs to rival any team in the country with Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton, but they make their bones on the line up front. James Franklin’s team did not need to rely on spectacular plays and mismatches to be productive on offense. The big uglies with their hand in the dirt sent a message that Illinois wasn’t prepared to receive.
The Illinois Fighting Illini had been 11th in the nation in defending the run. It’s a fleeting statistic so early in the season but it was something for Aaron Henry’s defense to hang their hat on heading into State College. If there was any room for debate on who would win the line of scrimmage, that debate was shut down quickly on both sides of the ball. Penn State outclassed an Illinois team that must look for answers if they would like their great start to the season to progress into the rest of the year.
Illinois Dominated In the Trenches
Illinois has solid players on either side of the ball up front and having them perform is a must for success in the Big Ten. Dealing with teams that can match and maybe overwhelm them at the line of scrimmage is going to have to be something that Head Coach of the Illinois Fighting Illini Bret Bielema works on from this point on.
Making adjustments, switching strategies, or changing up schemes all have to be in play if a situation arises later on like the Penn State game. Abdul Carter alone would be enough of a message that more attention needs to be given to the offensive line and the duo of Allen and Singleton certainly sent one to the defensive line.
QB/WR Chemistry
Pressure in the face of Illinois Fighting Illini QB Luke Altmyer all night could cloud this lesson but fans who watched the game all came away with a similar if not identical thought: the quarterback and wide receiver chemistry needs some work. In the first four games of the season, the receiving corps showed remarkable depth and ancillary playmaking behind Pat Bryant and Zakhari Franklin. Saturday blew that statement out of the water.
Penn State’s defense was able to shut down Pat Bryant, the Fighting Illini’s premier threat, and after Franklin found some open space early in the game, he was relatively quiet in the final three quarters. Behind that dynamic duo, there wasn’t a lot to speak of for the rest of Altmyer’s targets. Even if the depth in the receiver room was lacking, the tight end and running back options for Altmyer to look to couldn’t find separation. The lone bright spot against the Nittany Lions defense was a 30-yard completion to Josh McCray.
The defensive units that the Illinois Fighting Illini have coming down the pike are going to take a note from Penn State’s playbook and force the issue on the receiving threats behind Bryant and Franklin. The success Illinois has had so far this year may be a thing of the past if they can’t execute better and find ways to make other players bigger threats in the passing game. They have plenty of players who deserve time on the field and can be productive for this offense, it is going to be up to offensive coordinator Barry Lunney Jr. to find creative ways of getting them involved and reducing the onus on Bryant and Franklin.
Red Zone
Coinciding with the problems of the line of scrimmage and the passing game is the red zone. The Illinois Fighting Illini had enjoyed immense success in the red zone on offense heading into the Penn State game. The final drive of the first half put the kibosh on that narrative going forward. Between penalties and timeouts, the Fighting Illini ran seven plays in the red zone and six from inside the five and came away with zero points.
Converting on great opportunities had been a strong suit of the Illinois Fighting Illini on offense and they very well may pick up where they left off after the win over Nebraska, but with a much more difficult slew of opponents in the future, that is an aspect of the offense that Illinois has to hone in on for what will inevitably be tough-fought and highly-contested games in the Big Ten.
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