Three takeaways from Penn State football’s 21-7 victory over Illinois in Homecoming game

Penn State held on to beat Big Ten foe Illinois 21-7 Saturday night in Beaver Stadium during the program’s annual Homecoming game. The Nittany Lions are now 4-0 on the season.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

Penn State defense proves it’s still elite

Despite an opening drive touchdown by Illinois that may have left fans concerned about the defense — especially considering the Nittany Lions’ struggles early against Bowling Green — the unit steadied itself after that initial score. It was able to make consistent plays against an Illinois offense that had been playing relatively well entering the game. And the Penn State D was responsible for one of the game’s turning points, when cornerback AJ Harris picked off Illinois midway through the final quarter to help seal the game.

The final point total does a good job of illustrating how the Penn State defense played, but so do some of the underlying numbers. The Nittany Lions earned 13 tackles for loss and seven sacks, consistently providing pressure in the passing game and blowing up plays in the running game. The group held Illinois to 3.1 yards per rush without accounting for all of the sack yardage it piled up. This Illinois offense isn’t exactly high-powered, but this was still the best performance of the year by the Penn State defense.

Lack of early game aggression keeps Illinois in it

Penn State had a few chances to put the pedal to the floor in the first half and get out ahead of Illinois, but instead it chose to play it safe. The Nittany Lions had the ball on their own 42-yard line early in the second quarter while facing a fourth-and-1 situation. They chose to punt the ball away to the Illini despite the fact that their shortest run to that point was three yards — and came on a play that scored a touchdown. The team’s running game was so dominant early that it should have been an even easier call than usual to go for it.

Then, the Nittany Lions attempted a 40-yard field goal despite having a shaky kicking game — an attempt kicker Sander Sahaydak missed. The issue there isn’t necessarily not going for it but Penn State not setting itself up better for a shorter fourth down. The Nittany Lions attempted two passes on second and third down, needing six yards on each. Both fell short, taking away any chance for a shorter fourth down that the team could have tried to convert. James Franklin’s squad went into halftime with a 7-7 tie when it should’ve had the lead, if it was a bit more aggressive.

TE Tyler Warren at QB proving efficient in short yardage

The Nittany Lions do not lack options in short-yardage situations, with a 6-foot-5, 235-pound quarterback, two powerful running backs and a backup quarterback who moves like a running back. But right now there is an even easier solution than those players when the team needs five yards or fewer — tight end Tyler Warren.

Warren played quarterback in high school, throwing a touchdown pass against Kent State, and has the strength and athleticism to be a force in the running game. That was the case Saturday night as the team continued to call his number (at QB) when it needed a few yards against Illinois. He adds enough of a threat to draw attention from the defense so the team can still run with other players when he’s in and, if they don’t pay enough attention to him, he can make them pay. He finished with two carries for 13 yards and a touchdown, picking up yards when the offense needed them.