Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/594564
P O S T G A M E R E P O R T W E E K 9 P E N N S T A T E 3 9 , I L L I N O I S 0 O c T O B E R 3 1 , 2 0 1 5 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M THE GAME AT A GLANCE GOOD NEWSThere's plenty to report in this department. Christian Hackenberg was sharp from start to finish, the receivers made a number of big-time catches, and the defense cracked down hard in its best performance of the season. BAD NEWS Two blocked PATs are two too many. Injuries may have played a role, but the Nittany Lions need to get this issue resolved ASAP, because they're going to need every point they can muster against the three teams remaining on their schedule. THE TAKEAWAY Ex- cept for a few special teams gaffes, Penn State couldn't have asked for a better springboard into the season's homestretch. Northwestern, Michigan and Michi- gan State were sport- ing a combined record of 19-4 going into Saturday's action, so the Lions will need to keep it up. 1 M A T T H E R B | M A T T @ B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . c O M PUTTING TOGETHER IT ALL A complete team effort lifts Penn State to an impressive win over the Illini Maybe he could have run for a score or two. Maybe he could have handled the extra points, the one phase of the game in which Penn State strug- gled against Illinois. But otherwise, it's hard to imagine Christian Hackenberg doing any more to get his team on the scoreboard than he did Satur- day in the Nittany Lions' 39-0 romp over the Fighting Illini. Hackenberg had two touchdown passes and one TD catch and even served as a decoy on another scoring play, splitting out wide on a direct snap to Saquon Barkley that resulted in a 6-yard touchdown. Coach James Franklin's assessment: "Awesome." "Starting out the game he was able to get in a rhythm," Franklin said. "There have been some games where we've missed some throws or dropped some balls, and then it's hard to get in that rhythm. We started a lot cleaner this week. Quarterbacks are graded by touchdown-inter- ception ratio, third-down percentage, red zone, and obviously most important, wins and losses. In a lot of those statistics, he's doing really well. I'm pleased with him, and I'm pleased with the CATCH OF THE DAY Hackenberg threw for two TDs and also caught a scoring pass. Photo by Bill Anderson