Blue White Illustrated

H I S T O R Y the game. I remember laughing and jok- ing in the locker room. Then we were in pregame warmups and stretching and I burped an Italian or ham and cheese hoagie and we all laughed." Despite the point spread, it was the proverbial matchup of the irresistible force vs. the immovable object. Penn State led the country in total offense with an average of 533.5 yards per game and was second in scoring with a 48.3-point average. Illinois was second in the coun- try in scoring defense, giving up an aver- age of 11.3 points per game, and was al- lowing only 253.6 yards per game to rank fourth nationally. Lou Tepper, who had been born and raised in western Pennsylvania, was a de- fensive coordinator at three other col- leges before joining the Illini staff as the DC in 1988 and then was promoted to head coach in 1991. His three linebackers – Dana Howard, Kevin Hardy and Simeon Rice, who was leading the nation at the time with 16 sacks – would become first- team All-Americans that season or the next, and they were the heart and soul of the defense. They had the Illini pumped up, and it showed in a shocking first quarter. Penn State had not given up a first-quarter touchdown all season. Illi- nois scored three to take a 21-0 lead into the second quarter. A fumble by Carter at the Lions' 24- yard line on the third play of the game led to Illinois' first touchdown. After the teams traded punts, Collins threw only his sixth interception of the year, and the Illini went 23 yards for their second TD. DOWN/DISTANCE YARD LINE PLAY First-and-10 Penn State 4 Tailback Ki-Jana Carter runs between right tackle and right end for 1 yard. Second-and-9 Penn State 5 Quarterback Kerry Collins throws to fullback Brian Milne on the right sideline for 6 yards. Third-and-3 Penn State 11 Facing a three-man rush, Collins passes to tight end Kyle Brady at the left hash mark oC a fake for 7 yards. First-and-10 Penn State 18 Illinois safety Tyrone Washington blitzes, but Collins throws to split end Bobby Engram near the left sideline for 11. A facemask penalty on Illinois defensive back Rod Boykin gives Penn State 15 additional yards with 4 minutes, 25 seconds left. First-and-10 Penn State 44 Collins passes over the middle to Carter for 5 yards. Second-and-5 Penn State 49 Carter sweeps left for 7 yards and goes out of bounds with 3:42 left. First -and-10 Illinois 44 Milne runs up the middle for 3 yards. Second-and-7 Illinois 41 Collins passes to Brady on the left sideline for 6 yards. Third-and-1 Illinois 35 Carter sweeps left for 1 yard, and the measurement gives Penn State a first down with 2:17 left. First-and-10 Illinois 34 Collins passes to flanker Freddie Scott on a slant for 16 yards. First-and-10 Illinois 18 Washington blitzes again from Penn State's left side. Carter runs up the middle for no gain, and the Lions call timeout with 1:43 left. Second-and-10 Illinois 18 Collins passes to Engram over the middle near the left hash mark for 9 yards with 1:11 left. Third-and-1 Illinois 9 Milne runs up the middle on a trap play for 6 yards. Illinois calls timeout with 1:00 left. First-and-goal Illinois 3 Backup tight end Keith Olsommer and No. 3 fullback Jason Sload enter the game. The oCense lines up in a full-house backfield formation, with Milne to the left of Sload behind a tight seven-man line and tailback Mike Archie behind Brady on left side. Illinois lines up in a virtual nine-man line with two defensive backs close to the line on Penn State's left side and two linebackers up tight in the middle. Collins hands oC to Milne. The right side of the line – guard Marco Rivera, tackle Andre Johnson and Olsommer – open a hole be- tween the right tackle and end. Left guard JeC Hartings pulls, as Sload and Archie, in motion from the left, shield oC the outside with blocks, and Hartings leads Milne through the hole. Illinois linebackers Dana Howard (one tackle away from setting the Big Ten record of 573) and Simeon Rice try to tackle Milne at the goal line. Milne blasts through the pile, carrying Howard with him into the end zone with 57 seconds left. P E N N S T A T E ' S F I N A L D R I V E On this drive, Penn State uses a modifi- cation of the traditional I-formation, with the quarterback under center, a split end and flanker on each side and a tight end behind a basic six-man line, with the tailbacks bringing in plays called by Joe Paterno and Fran Ganter. Illinois uses a five-man rush and two linebackers close to the line of scrimmage with various schemes in the secondary and an occa- sional blitz, as Lou Tepper signals in de- fensive adjustments. –L.P. T I M E R E M A I N I N G 6 : 0 7 | S T A R T I N G F I E L D P O S I T I O N P E N N S T A T E 4 - Y A R D L I N E | T I M E O U T S 3 D R I V E S U M M A R Y 1 4 P L A Y S | 9 6 Y A R D S | 5 : 1 0

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