Blue White Illustrated

PLAYER OF THE GAME Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg was the picture of an efficient, mature vet- eran on Saturday afternoon in the Nit- tany Lions' dominating win. He hit 21 of 29 passes for 266 yards and two scores through the air, he also hauled in a 14- yard receiving touchdown, pushing his team to 7-2 on the season. PLAY OF THE GAMEToying with the Illini in the third quarter, Hackenberg handed off to Nick Scott, who sprinted right, turned and fired back to the drift- ing quarterback in the flat. Trotting to the pylon with the sure-handed catch, Hackenberg became the first PSU quar- terback to catch a touchdown pass since Zack Mills did so against Akron in 2004. Between the timing of the call and its execution, the play was Penn State's most notable of the win. BEST PASS Hackenberg was ex- tremely sharp to start the game, espe- cially on his 5-yard touchdown pass to Chris Godwin late in the first quarter. The laser split two Illini defenders, who crashed into each other, as Godwin cel- ebrated his score. BEST RUNAs if there was any ques- tion, Saquon Barkley's 7-yard touch- down up and over a pair of Illini defenders was the perfect exemplifica- tion of what the true freshman does so well. Out of the wildcat, he appeared to be toast, flashed into an opening, then pulled off his best Superman impres- sion on Halloween, flying into the end zone to give Penn State a commanding 32-0 fourth-quarter lead. BEST CATCHGeno Lewis might just be the Lions' best option on the fade. On a perfectly placed ball from Hackenberg, the junior wideout skied over hapless Illini corner Eaton Spence to put the Nits ahead 12-0 in the first quarter, scoring his second touchdown in as many weeks. WORST DROPDeAndre Thompkins had a pair of drops, but his reception to open the second quarter was derailed when Illini DB Clayton Fejedelem stripped the ball and forced Penn State's first turnover of the game. He also muffed a punt late in the fourth quarter. BEST SACKCarl Nassib continued his reign of terror in his final season as a Nittany Lion, bringing down a defense- less Wes Lunt for a 9-yard loss midway through the third quarter. It marked his ninth consecutive game with a sack, the longest such streak for a Penn State de- fender. Austin Johnson's second-quar- ter sack, the Lions' first of the day, gets a nod here, too. BEST HITOn a Ke'Shawn Vaughn carry late in the first half, Penn State safety Marcus Allen unloaded a wicked hit to abruptly end the 9-yard carry, but DT Anthony Zettel appeared to get caught in the crossfire, needing a minute to compose himself before eventually walking off the field. BEST EFFORTHackenberg looked as though he was about to go down in Penn State's backfield on a first-and-10 play midway through the second quar- ter. But he ducked away from a pair of Illini defensive linemen and managed to turn a sure 5-yard loss into a 3-yard pickup scrambling to his left. BEST KICKLate in the first half, backup Tyler Davis drilled a 42-yard field goal to give the Nittany Lions a 15- 0 lead. It was the lone highlight for Penn State's kicking unit on Saturday. BEST RETURNTroy Reeder sped up the sideline right past Illini offensive lineman Ted Karras. Only a last-second tackle at the 8-yard line prevented the interception return from going for a score. BEST DECISIONGiving Koa Farmer a shot returning a kickoff to open the second half paid off. With Penn State ahead 15-0, Farmer blasted 57 yards through the heart of the Illini kick cov- erage team before finally going down at the Illini 43-yard line. WORST DECISIONPenn State's kicking specialists might have considered stay- ing at the team hotel. Missed PATs and kickoffs out of bounds marked an odd turn for the unit. MOST TELLING MOMENTOffensive mistakes burned the Illini all afternoon against the Nittany Lions. Case in point: On first-and-10 at the Lion 33- yard line with time winding down in the first half, a botched snap and fum- ble forced Illinois out of field goal range. Three plays later, the Illini had to punt. – NATE BAUER JUDGMENT CALLS The best and the rest from the Lions' victory over Illinois 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 4 BEST RUN Barkley had another strong af- ternoon for the Nittany Lions, capped by his leap into the end zone for a 7- yard touch- down in the fourth quar- ter. Photo by Bill An- derson

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