My optimistic forecasting was in some ways, pretty accurate for this game. Illinois rediscovered their future NFL wide receiver Arrelious Benn, who had 5 catches for 96 yards. Juice threw for 263 yards, averaging a respectable 7.3 yards per attempt. The Illini were competitive throughout the first half and could have been down 7-6 or even ahead 10-7 at the half had a late drive not stalled out due to penalties.
All that said, the utter dominance of Penn State in the third quarter was a harsh reminder that Illinois, right now, is not a very good football team. Ahead just 7-3 at the half, Penn State embarked on consecutive drives of 55, 69, 79, and 80 yards, the first drive ending in a fumble, but the next three ending in rushing touchdowns. Illinois wound up with a respectable 393 yards of offense against a strong defense, but 150 of that (and 14 of their points) came once Penn State had already seized a commanding 28-3 lead, and they put up just 8 yards of offense in the critical third quarter.
In my game preview, I had highlighted Penn State's rushing offense as a team weakness, but you would never have known it from watching this game. The Nittany Lions ran for 338 yards on 40 attempts and simply ran the ball over and over again in the second half to little resistance from the Illinois front. Considering that Illinois produced just 130 yards on the ground, this was the difference in the game. Illinois wasn't flagged for a lot of penalties and their two turnovers were forgivable considering they came on a Hail Mary pass at the end of the first half and after the game was already over at 28-10, but the disparity on the ground was too much to overcome.
At 1-3, Illinois has made it through the toughest portion of their schedule but has shown little to suggest that the results will improve against the easier portion of their schedule. A bowl bid is not completely unrealistic yet, but it is looking less and less likely with each passing week.
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