Penn State football 56, Illinois 21: What happened and what we thought

CDT staff reports

Updated December 20, 2020 12:10 AM

UNIVERSITY PARK

Follow along as Centre Daily Times writers Parth Upadhyaya and Jon Sauber critique the Penn State vs. Illinois college football game, and visual journalist Abby Drey captures scenes from on the field at Beaver Stadium.

Penn State rolled to a 56-21 victory over Illinois on Saturday to end its regular season on a four-game win streak, after starting its season 0-5.

Here’s what happened:

Penn State beats Illinois 56-21 pic.twitter.com/aLf7ptF0Qa
— Abby Drey (@ADreyPhotos) December 20, 2020

FINAL: #PennState 56, Illinois 21

The Nittany Lions win their fourth consecutive game after starting the season 0-5 to finish the regular season with a 4-5 record.
— Parth Upadhyaya (@pupadhyaya_) December 20, 2020

Caziah Holmes gets his second rushing touchdown of his career. He has 12 carries for 77 yards in this one. 56-21, Penn State.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) December 20, 2020

Will Levis just jumped over another human being.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) December 20, 2020

On 4th-and-1 from Illinois' seven-yard line, Levis checks in and ... throws. He hits TE Brenton Strange for a TD pass. PSU now with 35 unanswered points after falling behind 21-14.

PSU 49, Illinois 21 w/ 20 secs to go in 3Q
— Parth Upadhyaya (@pupadhyaya_) December 20, 2020

Penn State expands its lead on a pass from Will Levis to Brenton Strange. The tone of this game shifted drastically since the first quarter and the Nittany Lions are running away with it. 49-21, Penn State.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) December 20, 2020

DT Antonio Shelton with a big sack for a loss of six and a forced fumble there with Illinois going for it on fourth down. PSU will take over from its own 39-yard line.
— Parth Upadhyaya (@pupadhyaya_) December 20, 2020

Score at the HALF, Penn State 42, Illinois 21 pic.twitter.com/1qmbEX1uCX
— Abby Drey (@ADreyPhotos) December 20, 2020

PSU WR Jahan Dotson close to breaking a program record with an entire half to go still. https://t.co/z9dspcFfRv
— Parth Upadhyaya (@pupadhyaya_) December 20, 2020

Half: Penn State 42, Illinois 21

The Nittany Lions have 387 total yards of offense, compared to 229 for the Fighting Illini.
— Parth Upadhyaya (@pupadhyaya_) December 20, 2020

Penn State will go to the half up 42-21 with Jahan Dotson only 33 yards shy of tying the program's single-game receiving yards record.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) December 20, 2020

PSU ends the first half with a missed 35-yard FG attempt by Jake Pinegar. Kick sailed wide left.
— Parth Upadhyaya (@pupadhyaya_) December 20, 2020

️ 5 Catches
️ 183 Yards
️ 2 TD

Jahan is having himself a day! #WeAre pic.twitter.com/FalZ5AvHBr
— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) December 20, 2020

️️ @H55ZY is FAST

He breaks away for 70 yards and puts another TD on the board for @PennStateFball pic.twitter.com/n5KPbv4cPr
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) December 20, 2020

A perfectly-executed tunnel screen gets Jahan Dotson in the open field and he does the rest for a 70-yard touchdown. Five catches, 183 yards and two touchdowns on only five targets, but somehow only a third team All-Big Ten selection.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) December 20, 2020

Like come on @H55ZY
— Saquon Barkley (@saquon) December 19, 2020

How will Penn State decide on a bowl game? Players will meet in the locker room tonight and have a conversation while Franklin meets with the media. Franklin will then join the team and they'll decide, per the broadcast.
— Audrey Snyder (@audsnyder4) December 19, 2020

In their ninth game, Penn State finally has hit the 50 percent mark (17 of 34) for red zone touchdowns.
— Joe Juliano (@JoeJulesinq) December 19, 2020

Keyvone Lee pounds it in from near the goal line to extend the Penn State lead to 14. The freshman back already has 62 yards on 13 carries in the first half.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) December 19, 2020

Lee is up to 62 yards on 13 carries (4.8 yards per carry) so far tonight https://t.co/dOQw85qx8Y
— Parth Upadhyaya (@pupadhyaya_) December 19, 2020

my two beloved football teams — penn state and MY buffalo bills — at the same time, very emotional pic.twitter.com/kO6HFZIuLV
— Bill DiFilippo (@billdifilippo) December 19, 2020

Caziah Holmes earns his first touchdown as a Nittany Lion with a three-yard run. Penn State leads 28-21 in a game that may never end.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) December 19, 2020

Jahan Dotson has Penn State starting its drive in the red zone after a 50-yard punt return. He continues to impress in the open field.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) December 19, 2020

1️⃣8️⃣ came in with a vengeance! #WeAre pic.twitter.com/j5iwesYBI0
— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) December 19, 2020

End of 1Q (finally): PSU 21, Illinois 21

The two teams have combined for 355 yards of total offense so far.
— Parth Upadhyaya (@pupadhyaya_) December 19, 2020

Total yards: Illinois 198, Penn State 156

And we're not even through the first quarter yet.
— Parth Upadhyaya (@pupadhyaya_) December 19, 2020

Will Levis runs it three straight times from inside the 10 and punches it in on the third try to tie it up at 21.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) December 19, 2020

Levis punches it in for a TD on 4th-and-3 from Illinois' four-yard line.

PSU 21, Illinois 21 w/ 1:13 left in the 1Q
— Parth Upadhyaya (@pupadhyaya_) December 19, 2020

PSU goes three-and-out after — a six-yard completion from Clifford to Dotson, a pass for a loss of three yards from Clifford to Lee and a sack for a loss of seven yards.

Finally some defense in this one.
— Parth Upadhyaya (@pupadhyaya_) December 19, 2020

We're 5:10 into this game and it's 14-14.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) December 19, 2020

Penn State still can't tackle. Williams hits Daniel Barker on a bubble screen and he takes it 38 yards for a touchdown. 21-14, Illinois. The game is in the first quarter.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) December 19, 2020

Illinois TE Daniel Barker scores on a 38-yard catch-and-run after LB Lance Dixon and S Ji'Ayir Brown both miss tackles.

Illinois 21, PSU 14 w/ 6:10 left in 1Q
— Parth Upadhyaya (@pupadhyaya_) December 19, 2020

Isaiah Williams keeps the zone read and hits the hole for a 64-yard gain. Good read and good vision to find the gap and follow his downfield blocks.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) December 19, 2020

Daaangg, Daniel! @DB9_Era has the game and the moves for @IlliniFootball: pic.twitter.com/USK4XofwzE
— Illinois on BTN (@IllinoisOnBTN) December 19, 2020

That's now 65 points off turnovers for Penn State opponents this season. Yikes.

It's crazy because 65 almost seems too low.
— Parth Upadhyaya (@pupadhyaya_) December 19, 2020

Four minutes in. Three touchdowns in Illinois/PSU. @PennStateFBall's Lamont Wade houses the kickoff in Happy Valley: pic.twitter.com/VkCBb6sOMw
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) December 19, 2020

That's now 65 points off turnovers for Penn State opponents this season. Yikes.

It's crazy because 65 almost seems too low.
— Parth Upadhyaya (@pupadhyaya_) December 19, 2020

Isaiah Williams extends the play with a rollout and hits Brian Hightower for the touchdown. Illinois converts after the Clifford fumble to tie the game up, 7-7.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) December 19, 2020

HOW, @_keatonellis?!

This @PennStateFBall pick was plucked from the turf: pic.twitter.com/vTOShU5YNE
— Penn State On BTN (@PennStateOnBTN) December 19, 2020

Call confirmed. Kind of surprised it didn't just stand, but it nets the same result regardless.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) December 19, 2020

And Clifford just fumbled. So, the ball will likely go right back to Illinois at PSU's 15-yard line.

Play currently under review
— Parth Upadhyaya (@pupadhyaya_) December 19, 2020

A nice sliding grab nets State College native Keaton Ellis his first career interception.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) December 19, 2020

It may be cold, but Han is HOT @H55ZY #WeAre pic.twitter.com/KMiYFfQRja
— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) December 19, 2020

Dotson picked up right where he left off last week — he had an 81-yard punt-return TD in the fourth quarter of last Saturday's game against Michigan State https://t.co/pIDsdCnVXA
— Parth Upadhyaya (@pupadhyaya_) December 19, 2020

That was fast. Jahan Dotson takes a hitch route 75 yards for a touchdown. 7-0, Nittany Lions.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) December 19, 2020

Freshman RB Keyvone Lee will start for #PennState. Sophomore RB Devyn Ford also missed last week's game against Michigan State with an undisclosed injury.
— Parth Upadhyaya (@pupadhyaya_) December 19, 2020

Shane Simmons gets his 2nd straight start in place of the banged-up Jayson Oweh.
— Derek Levarse (@TLdlevarse) December 19, 2020

Marquis Wilson and Keaton Ellis will start at cornerback.
Assistant coach Terry Smith said Thursday #PennState had 2.5 healthy CBs last week.
— Richard Scarcella (@nittanyrich) December 19, 2020

Jayson Oweh is in street clothes today. He'll miss his second straight game.
— Thomas Frank Carr (@ThomasFrankCarr) December 19, 2020

A whole bunch of Illinois players didn't make the trip to Beaver Stadium today. https://t.co/4qEYP9xewR
— Greg Pickel (@GregPickel) December 19, 2020

Good afternoon from a snowy Beaver Stadium. All I keep thinking is they have white out conditions! pic.twitter.com/0HlmJLwIOo
— Abby Drey (@ADreyPhotos) December 19, 2020

Last go around in Beaver Stadium for these guys. Let's make it count.#WeAre pic.twitter.com/tMglMaM3XJ
— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) December 19, 2020

One last time from Beaver Stadium this season. Let’s get it.#PennState vs. Illinois kicks off at 5:30. pic.twitter.com/vMLpnNo0x2
— Parth Upadhyaya (@pupadhyaya_) December 19, 2020

Beaver Stadium pic.twitter.com/XpXOgvNYnA
— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) December 19, 2020

I wish I could be with her but this smile was priceless enough!! Momma we did it !! #psugrad pic.twitter.com/PZMFZlrzQA
— Micah Parsons (@MicahhParsons11) December 19, 2020

Congratulations men! Really proud of what you’ve accomplished. Continue pushing to become the best versions of yourselves!#WeAre pic.twitter.com/tYZ3jfyAjy
— James Franklin (@coachjfranklin) December 19, 2020