Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/421383
rial Stadium, turned into a series of odd- ities, uncharacteristic letdowns and all- too-familiar failures, the combination of which resulted in a 16-14 loss. In this particular instance, Illini kicker Taylor Zalewski's kickoff rose steadily before hitting a wall of wind and dropping straight to the ground. The ball fell into no-man's land, then bounced back toward a hustling Illini coverage unit. Clayton Fejedelem re- covered for the home team in what could only be categorized as a 44-yard onside kick. Just six plays later, a 28- yard David Reisner field goal gave the Illini a 10-7 lead. It was one of many moments that, while not directly game-changing, flum- moxed Penn State (6-5 overall, 2-5 Big Ten). Holding the Illini (5-6, 2-5) to just one first down in the first quarter, the Nittany Lions appeared at first to be in sync on both sides of the ball. Sophomore quar- terback Christian Hackenberg threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to freshman wideout Chris Godwin to give Penn State a 7-0 lead just 8 minutes, 24 seconds into the game. The Illini, meanwhile, were forced to punt on their first six posses- sions while generating only 59 yards of total offense. Yet, an Akeel Lynch fumble with the offense on the move midway through the second quarter halted a possession and began what appeared to be a mo- mentum shift. Trading punts with Illi- nois, an Evan Schwan offside penalty on an Illini punt on fourth-and-3 at their own 39-yard line continued the trend and extended the the possession. Said Franklin, "I think that was a big play. You've got a chance to get off the field and the two guys who are closest to the ball flinch." The Illini took advantage, moving down the field on nine more plays, reaching the end zone on a 1-yard pass from Reilly O'Toole to Matt LaCosse. The play sent the two teams to the locker rooms tied at 7-7 in spite of a Penn State defensive ef- fort that had been highly effective to that point. Penn State regained the lead early in the fourth quarter on a 47-yard touchdown run by Lynch. But the offense's effective- ness waned as the second half went on. Said to be "worn out" as a group by Franklin following the game, the Nittany Lion defense was immediately chal- lenged, as Illinois put together an 11-play, 58-yard drive that resulted in a field goal. The Lions were forced to punt a@er a three-and-out on their next possession, and the defense again allowed an ex- tended drive, as the Illini plodded 38 yards into Penn State territory to set up another field goal attempt. Reisner's 50- yarder with the wind at his back had the leg but sailed le@, giving Penn State pos- session at the 3:29 mark with a 1-point lead. For an offense that can only be consid- ered inept at this point, hampered by in- juries, a lack of experience and starters playing out of position, closing out the win proved impossible. Facing third- and-5 at its own 37-yard line, Penn State came up just short of a first down when Hackenberg rolled out for 4 yards. Asked what he saw on the play, Hackenberg said he wished the outcome had been differ- ent. "It was one of those bang-bang things," he said. "Looking back at it, I'm sure it was pretty easy for everyone who wasn't in the moment to be like bounce back, but it's just one of those things where you've got to learn from it and make sure I don't make that mistake next time." Trusting a defensive unit that has ex- celled all season long, Franklin opted to punt with less than two minutes to play. "Our defense has been playing great all year long. You punt the ball, you make them go earn it," he said. "If we go for it on fourth-and-1 and we don't get it, everybody is in here right now talking about how stupid I am." Either way, the decision backfired. The Illini generated some momentum immediately with a 25-yard completion from O'Toole to wideout Mike Dudek into Penn State territory, followed by a 17-yarder to Marchie Murdock down to the Lions' 30-yard line. In position to make tackles on both plays, the Lions missed, indicating that fatigue had caught up to them. By the time Josh Fer- guson took three carries and forced Penn State to use its final two timeouts, the Illini were set at the 18-yard line for a 36- yard field goal try. Again with the wind at his back, Reis- ner made good on his opportunity, giving the Illini the 16-14 lead that would stick despite a desperate hook-and-ladder on the game's final play. Citing the series of events that led to the loss, a stoic Franklin voiced his frustration at the circum- stances. "There are a lot of things that go into it. Am I disappointed? Yes," he said. "But, where we're at numberswise, this late in the season, getting banged up, losing guys, not being able to have the consis- tency that we need across the board... I want to get it fixed as bad as anybody. I truly do." The Nittany Lions close out the regular season by hosting Michigan State (9-2, 6-1) next Saturday at Beaver Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. SCORING SUMMARY 1ST 8:24 PSU Godwin, Chris 18-yard pass from Hackenberg, Christian (Ficken, Sam kick) 9 plays, 52 yards, TOP 4:49....................................................................... 7-0 2ND 0:25 ILL LaCosse, Matt 1-yard pass from O'Toole, Reilly (Reisner, David kick) 12 plays, 68 yards, TOP 2:27...................................................................... 7-7 3RD 12:26 ILL Reisner, David 28-yard field goal 6 plays, 19 yards, TOP 2:34...................................................................... 10-7 4TH 13:37 PSU Lynch, Akeel 47-yard run (Ficken, Sam kick) 8 plays, 77 yards, TOP 4:14.................................................................... 14-10 8:43 ILL Reisner, David 25-yard field goal 11 plays, 58 yards, TOP 4:54..................................................................14-13 0:08 ILL Reisner, David 36-yard field goal 7 plays, 54 yards, TOP 1:40.................................................................... 16-14 N o V E m B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 4 B l U E w h i t E o N l i N E . c o m 2