LIVE BLOG: Updates, instant analysis, photos and video from Penn State football vs. Illinois
CDT staff reports
The 5-1 Penn State Nittany Lions are taking on 2-5 Illinois on Saturday at Beaver Stadium, with both Big Ten teams coming off of bye weeks.
Sean Clifford was announced as Penn State’s starting quarterback after exiting the team’s 23-20 loss to Iowa two weeks ago. Follow reporters Jon Sauber and Kyle J. Andrews for updates and analysis throughout the game, and visual journalist Abby Drey for scenes from on the field.
Illinois upsets No. 7 Penn State, 20-18 after nine overtimes. pic.twitter.com/MKp7IrHI9c
— Abby Drey (@ADreyPhotos) October 23, 2021
Illinois converts. The Illini upset No. 7 Penn State, 20-18 after nine overtimes.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Illinois can win it with three yards in the ninth overtime.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Noah Cain converts, but it was close. Nine. Nine overtimes.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Illinois converts. Penn State needs three yards to force a ninth OT or it will fall to 5-2.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Eight. We are at eight overtimes.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Noah Cain is short of the goal line. Illinois can win it.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Shovel pass only gains two yards. Penn State needed three. Off to a seventh overtime we go.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Illinois is stuffed. I don't know the terms after quintuple but we're at six overtimes.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Penn State fails on its 2-point try. Quintuple overtime.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Illinois quarterback Artur Sitkowski may or may not have just broke his left wrist while trying to brace for a fall. Very ugly injury.
— Kyle J. Andrews (@KyleJAndrews_) October 23, 2021
Incomplete pass. Penn State can put this to bed with a three-yard gain.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
This is insane. Quadruple overtime. Illinois gets the ball first.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Stout hits from 40 yards out. Triple OT. Time to trade 2-point conversions.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Illinois leads 16-13. Penn State can win the game with a touchdown.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Penn State doesn't have much of an answer to Illinois going with seven linemen.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Heading to double OT after Jaquan Brisker nearly called game.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Penn State's defense is gonna have to step up to do something it hasn't done all game and stop the run game.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Great job by Tyler Warren to follow Brenton Strange and get the first down.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Penn State gets the ball first and they'll play toward the south end zone.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
We're heading to overtime tied at 10. Hard to imagine Penn State stopping the Illinois running game when the Illini only need to go 25 yards.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Clifford had Washington but overthrew him and now Stout will punt with 43 seconds on the clock.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Penn State couldn't get set with Brenton Strange being motioned over and they have to spend a timeout. 3:01 left in the game and they are on their own 29.
— Kyle J. Andrews (@KyleJAndrews_) October 23, 2021
Ebiketie has seen a lot of double teams in the run game, but came up big there for Penn State.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Here comes a sneak.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Clifford is slow to get up and is grabbing his right side. He's grabbed it a few times this game after getting hit.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
What an absurd play by Dotson. He had no business catching that pass.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Illinois ties the game after a 70-yard, 16-play drive that takes 7:33 off the clock and a month off my life.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Chase Brown scores, but there's a flag and this drive will never end.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Now a facemask on Penn State gives Illinois a first down at the 14.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Now there was an offensive pass interference that has been accepted and the illegal lineman downfield is declined. The calls are probably right but the officiating crew did not handle that well. The pass going beyond the LOS brought both calls into play.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Ineligible lineman down the field is the call and takes the touchdown off the board. The call has reinvigorated this crowd.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
I am unsure of what just happened.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
At some point Penn State needs to send five defensive linemen out there when Illinois goes this heavy.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
105,001 is the announced attendance at Beaver Stadium for the Homecoming game against Illinois.
— Kyle J. Andrews (@KyleJAndrews_) October 23, 2021
Penn State leads 10-7 at the end of three quarters, but it looks like Illinois is going to take the lead here soon on the back of its rushing attack.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Illinois is in 12 personnel, but is going with two extra offensive linemen instead of two receivers and has been doing it for most of the game. Don't see that too often.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Stalled drive. Offense is looking less than ideal for the Nittany Lions. While Clifford has 138 passing yards, he's missed some throws. Theo Johnson also missed out on a bullet pass to his chest, which he dropped. Running game is next to non-existent.
— Kyle J. Andrews (@KyleJAndrews_) October 23, 2021
Big stop by Penn State to hold Illinois to a field goal attempt that goes wide left. Nittany Lions still lead 10-7.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Great pass breakup by Ji'Ayir Brown on that pass to prevent the touchdown.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Penn State gets the stop but a pass interference call on Joey Porter Jr. will give Illinois the first down.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Illinois is up to 209 yards rushing now.
— Elton Hayes (@EHDC12) October 23, 2021
Penn State settles for a field goal and Stout misses from 39 yards out.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Sitkowski was wrapped up by Nick Tarburton and then fumbled after he got hit by Derrick Tangelo. Brisker recovers and Penn State has the ball at the Illinois 22.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Jacobs limped off with some assistance from the training staff.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Penn State is in serious trouble if they don't figure out a way to stop the run.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Clifford had Washington open on third down but never looked his way and Penn State will punt on 4th-and-20.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Clifford had Lambert-Smith open by about 10 yards down the left sideline but never saw him on the first down play.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
He's up and limping off the field.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Keyvone Lee is down on the field.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Penn State leads Illinois 10-7 at the half pic.twitter.com/5Ho763L6O2
— Abby Drey (@ADreyPhotos) October 23, 2021
Penn State leads Illinois 10-7 at the half.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Sitkowski just hit a wide-open Ellis Brooks right in the chest with a pass. Brooks dropped the chance at a pick, but Illinois will punt.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
This time it's a 55-yard punt by Jordan Stout that gets downed at the Illinois 6.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Jon Lovett just barreled the defenders with an 18-yard rush. Penn State's rushing offense has to improve for a chance against Ohio State next Saturday.
— Kyle J. Andrews (@KyleJAndrews_) October 23, 2021
Brown punches it in for Illinois. The Illini walked right down the field against the Penn State defense. That might have been the defense's worst drive of the season. 10-7, PSU.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
PJ Mustipher's presence is certainly missed up front today.
— Elton Hayes (@EHDC12) October 23, 2021
Chase Brown continues to gash Penn State's defense. He's up to 107 yards on 13 carries.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Clifford had Parker Washington open in the endzone, but overthrows him. Stout hits the field goal to make it 10-0.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Brandon Smith just obliterated Sitkowski to force a sack and a fumble. Penn State recovers and will start the drive on the Illinois 40 after a 15-yard penalty.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
End of the first quarter, Penn State leads Illinois, 7-0.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Penn State gets on the board with a slant route by KeAndre Lambert-Smith. Clifford finds him and he takes it in for the 42-yard touchdown. 7-0 Penn State.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Jahan Dotson is unbelievable.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Dotson resumes business as usual .@PennStateFball // @H55ZY pic.twitter.com/ZxSYCqTcHj
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 23, 2021
Noah Cain is the second running back in the game for Penn State.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Scratch that. The referees have called Brown down, even though he was standing upright.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Stout just crushed a 55-yard punt. He was really good against Iowa and that strong run continues.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
I'm gonna guess we're gonna see a lot of Keyvone Lee today if this keeps up.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Penn State runs it twice for a loss and then Clifford takes a sack. It'll be interesting to see if the Nittany Lions try to lean on the ground game, which hasn't been good, due to Clifford's injury.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Early momentum shift for @PennStateFball .
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) October 23, 2021
Int. for Curtis Jacobs (@CurtisUpNext23) . pic.twitter.com/qSGwbI3x2W
Artur Sitkowski with a rough start to the day. Severely underthrows a would-be touchdown to Casey Washington and then throws an interception to Curtis Jacobs.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Here come the Nittany Lions. They look to bounce back following a tough loss to Iowa where they lost QB Sean Clifford for the rest of the game and DT P.J. Mustipher for the season.
— Kyle J. Andrews (@KyleJAndrews_) October 23, 2021
Clifford is today’s starter for #PennState Homecoming again Illinois. pic.twitter.com/wwSG5r4lLG
Sean Clifford was announced as the starting quarterback as warmups wrap up to cheers from the crowd pic.twitter.com/3RWf2UAVJS
— Abby Drey (@ADreyPhotos) October 23, 2021
Sean Clifford will start at quarterback for Penn State.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
More here:https://t.co/QmnOQfzY01
Coziah Izzard announced as a starter next to Derrick Tangelo at DT.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Sean Clifford is in uniform and stretching.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Jonathan Sutherland is in uniform after leaving the game against Iowa with an injury.
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) October 23, 2021
Penn State RBs John Lovett and Devyn Ford are dressed out and are running through kick return drills.
— Elton Hayes (@EHDC12) October 23, 2021
Here he is: Sean Clifford throwing during early Penn State warmups ahead of Illinois. pic.twitter.com/3oeBGFFhR7
— Greg Pickel (@GregPickel) October 23, 2021
It's a little dreary but fans still came out to welcome the Penn State football team to Beaver Stadium for the homecoming game against Illinois pic.twitter.com/OcsaE9VddB
— Abby Drey (@ADreyPhotos) October 23, 2021
— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) October 23, 2021
This story was originally published October 23, 2021 at 11:06 AM.