Illini (3-2) wallop sleeping Lions (3-3)

Scheelhaase and Leshoure can't be stopped

State College, PA - As Guest Game Analyst Laurie Koreivo and I walked across Beaver Stadium parking lots on our way to meet John and Kelle Massimilla for our pre-game tailgate get-together, one party already in the mode played the melancholy tune,  "The Lion Sleeps tonight", as we trekked past with a cooler and shopping bags in our possession.  Well, it turned out to be a great day to be out tailgating, but as far as the game was concerned, the Nittany Lions slept through most of the afternoon, never mind the night.  A wake up call is needed in Happy Valley.  Illinois beat the Lions, 33-13, and the score shouldn't have been that close as the visitors made mistakes to keep the Lions close at their annual Homecoming game in front of a of of disappointed alum who waxed nostalgic about their glory days. 

      Since PSU joined The Big Ten, it was Illinois' first victory at Beaver Stadium after six losses.  Injuries to Penn State's defense decimated their ranks, but the Illini offense led by Frosh QB Nate Scheelhaase (15 for 19, 151 yards, 1 TD, 61 yards rushing) and RB Mikel Leshoure (27 carries for 119 yards) controlled the game against Linebacker U, a name that doesn't apply this year.  Their Illini defense allowed only 235 yards and seven first downs,  second fewest ever for a Joe Paterno-coached team.  The Lion defense tackled poorly allowing 437 yards, and an ineffective offense failed to capitalize on several big opportunities provided by U of I miscues.  At our post-game tailgate party, PSU fans vented about the direction of this year's team.  There's not a lot of positive things to be said about a 3-3 team with wins over FCS Youngstown, MAC bottom-dweller Kent State, and a last minute win over an improving Temple team.  One Beaver Stadium hanger-on said late in the game that the Lions made 3-2 Illinois look better than Iowa, now ranked at No. 15. 

     Penn State recovered an Illini fumble late in the first period at Illinois 23.  With the turnover, all the Lions got out of it was a 27-yard FG by Collin Wagner for a 3-0 lead that held until the end of Q1.  The result was a precursor to the Nittanies' efforts for the rest of the game.

     To start the second period, Scheelhaase led an 80-yard drive finishing up with an 18-yard TD pass to WR AJ Jenkins.  With Derek Dimke's conversion, the Illini took a 7-3 lead.  The Illini defense extended the lead when PSU Frosh QB Derek Bolden threw pass to his immediate right from the 21 to Devon Smith out of the backfield, but LB Nate Bussey tipped it into the air with one hand and hauled it in himself to return it 16 yards for an Illinois TD to lead now, 14-3.  Nine seconds later, however, PSU provided hopes for a sudden comeback.  Following a touchback on the kickoff, PSU finally called a play-action pass and Bolden ( 8 of 21, 142 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) hit a streaking Derek Moye for an 80-yard TD pass to challenge the visitors, 14-10.  Had the Lions learned to set up the pass with their runs?  It seems kind of difficult to set things up when you use one coordinator to call running plays and the other for calling the passing plays.  We would see!  Illinois kept moving the ball offensively against an inconsistent PSU defense.  Dimke's 50-yard FG kept them ahead by a TD, 17-10.  PSU punted after three plays, but returner Jack Ramsay muffed the punt and PSU recovered the supposed gift on the IU nine.  Two runs for five yards by Evan Royster and an incomplete pass forced the Lions to settle for another Wagner FG to close the score by three to the Blue and White's disappointment, 17-13.  With 2:49 left in the half, Illinois relentlessly drove from its own 24 to get into FG range so Dimke could split the uprights as time expired to end the half.  The team scheduled to be the Lions' homecoming feast led at halftime, 20-13.

     The Penn State Blue Band and Alumni Band dressed mostly in white entertained on the hot, sunny, crisp, clear fall Saturday.  It was supposed to be a festive day, but fans and alum rightfully grumbled about their teams' performance thus far.  The offense couldn't take advantage of big breaks and the defense could not tackle or defend against the pass. 

     Not much changed in the third quarter.  PSU punted after three offensive plays.  Illinois took over on their own 31 and drove the length of the field putting six more on the board with a HB option pass from Jason Ford to TE Evan Wilson from four yards away. Trailing 27-13 with little signs of life from their offense, PSU fans started their exodus to grumble and resolve PSU football problems by their grills over a couple of beers.  PSU got one first down on its next possession before punting.  The next Illini drive resulted in a 41-yard Dimke FG to take a 30-13 lead.  The next Lion punt preceded a 37-yard FG by Dimke.  It was over, 33-13, in favor of the homecoming "pushover" in front of 107,638 paying fans. A beautiful, sunny day to tailgate in Happy Valley was ruined by a dismal Nittany Lion performance who had no answer to the visitors' dominance on both sides of the football.

     The Lions are off next week.  Give Joe Paterno some extra time to prepare a team for a game, and he has generally turned things around.  We're not so sure this time.  We hadn't seen him coach since last season, but to us old Joe is now looking...old!  He's starting to look a little frail and a little curved in the spine.  His players don't look motivated.  The play calling is unimaginative.  We never saw another well-timed play-action pass, maybe one.  We're hoping a wakeup call goes out to the Lions over the next two weeks before they visit Minnesota and then host high-scoring Michigan led by Denard Robinson.  Two wins in those games set up the game we'll see against Northwestern, another who has never won at Beaver Stadium in Big Ten play, as Joe's 400th career win.  To be honest though, this looks like a stretch.  We'll see if Joe still has some charisma to turn things around suddenly.

     The Illini face a big Big Ten test next Saturday at No. 13 Michigan State (6-0) in East Lansing.  We look forward to heading to Annapolis next Saturday for our much anticipated game between the Midshipman (3-2) and SMU (4-2).  Navy great Chet Moeller will be honored for his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Extra points:

 The 235 yard by State was a season low.  Evan Royster gained only 35 yards.  His 3,306 career yards bypassed Blair Thomas who was third on PSU's all-time rushing list.  John says he doesn't deserve to be the top ball carrier in PSU history (Curt Warner, 3,398 yards).  He needs to help to turn things around in 2010.

Chris Colasanti came up with 18 stops for the Lions.  Many after big pick-ups by Illinois.  Rarely did U of I ball carriers go down on any first contact by the Lions.

Some of the alumni conversations around our tailgate: