STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — There was no need for anything fancy on Saturday night at Beaver Stadium.
Penn State planned to outmuscle 19th-ranked Illinois with a physical rushing attack; that's exactly what they did, racking up 239 yards on the ground on 44 carries.
Junior Kaytron Allen's five-yard touchdown run with a little less than two minutes to go sealed the win and put him over 100 yards for the night.
While Allen took 18 handoffs, fellow running back Nick Singleton covered 94 yards on 16 carries. Singleton scored earlier in the Nittany Lions 21-7 win.
Both credited the offensive line with controlling the line of scrimmage and giving them room to run past—and in some cases, over—the Illinois defenders.
Quarterback Drew Allar was efficient and protected the football; he completed 15 of the 21 passes for 135 yards and no interceptions.
The Nittany Lions' defense gave up a touchdown on the game's opening drive and shut out Illinois the rest of the way.
Penn State came into the game ranked 9th in the country but will likely move up a spot or two. They are now 4-0 and host UCLA this Saturday at noon. The game can be seen on FOX43.