Penn State football falls to Illinois, 20-18, in FBS record 9 overtimes on Homecoming
Penn State football is now 5-2 on the season after falling to Illinois at Beaver Stadium on Saturday. The Nittany Lions lost 20-18 to the Fighting Illini in a game that was close throughout and went to nine overtimes.
Redshirt senior quarterback Sean Clifford started the game for the Nittany Lions after his status was uncertain after he suffered an undisclosed injury in the team’s 23-20 loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes two weeks prior.
The Nittany Lions gave up a few good runs to the Illinois offense to start the game, but the defense looked like it had its bearings shortly thereafter. Linebacker Curtis Jacobs intercepted Illinois quarterback Artur Sitkowski on the first drive of the game, then safety Jaquan Brisker appeared to force a fumble that the Nittany Lions recovered in the end zone. However, the runner was ruled down and the Illini continued their drive.
Clifford and the offense got the touchdown back when the quarterback hit wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith on a slant route and the sophomore receiver took the pass 30 more yards into the end zone for a 42-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead following the Jordan Stout extra point.
Penn State was also able to get the turnover back on the next Illinois drive when linebacker Brandon Smith rushed untouched and blew up Sitkowski, forcing a fumble that led to a Stout field goal.
Illinois quickly returned to its early-game form offensively and was able to keep the score close in the first half thanks to 134 rushing yards on 17 carries by Chase Brown and a touchdown that made it a 10-7 game.
The Illini continued to stay close to the Nittany Lions in the third quarter with the two teams trading missed field goal attempts early in the second half.
Brown and Josh McCray combined for 365 rushing yards on 57 carries to lead Illinois offensively and continued the momentum the team built into the fourth quarter. Penn State had no answers for the rushing attack and gave up a game-tying field goal with 11:49 left in the fourth quarter.
The Nittany Lions and Illini traded possessions without a score until the two teams went to overtime. Penn State kicked a field goal on its first possession and Illinois answered with one of its own to sent the game into a second overtime.
Illinois opened the second overtime with another field goal and Penn State answered to send the game to triple overtime, where the teams would trade two-point conversion attempts until a winner is declared.
The two teams traded scoreless overtimes until the eighth overtime when both teams converted to send it to a ninth overtime.
The Illini converted in the ninth overtime and the Nittany Lions did not to solidify the upset victory.
Player of the game
Illinois running back Chase Brown: It’s hard to pick anyone else from the game. Brown ran roughshod all over the Nittany Lions in the game. He racked up 223 yards on 33 carries including a touchdown. Credit has to go to the Illini offensive line for creating holes for Brown and the other Illinois running backs, but he hit them hard and ran through contact the entire game.
Penn State’s attempts at arm tackles were futile and allowed the Illinois offense to control the game with the rushing attack. Brown was the primary figure for that attack and had arguably the best performance of any offensive player against the Penn State defense so far this season.
Stat of the game
165: That’s how many rushing yards Illinois had in the first half of Saturday’s game. Penn State has had one of the most stout defenses in the country, especially against the run, but the Illini managed to run all over the Nittany Lions in the first 30 minutes of game action. They came out in heavy personnel sets, with multiple tight ends and extra offensive linemen in the game, and made life difficult for Penn State with their physicality. They couldn’t throw the ball in the first half, but there wasn’t much need to with how well they ran even when the Nittany Lions knew it was coming. That trend continued into the second half but the sheer amount of yardage set the tone for Illinois in the first half.
Up next
at Ohio State: Penn State now must gather itself with its season-long goals all but dashed after the loss to the Illini. The NIttany Lions will travel to Columbus to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes. They’ll have to do so while on a two-game losing streak after falling to the Illini and the Hawkeyes two weeks prior.
This story was originally published October 23, 2021 at 4:32 PM.
