After a ‘beautiful’ game, Penn State gearing up for White Out showdown against Iowa

On his way to the locker room, a beaming James Franklin extended his arms around Penn State safeties coach Anthony Poindexter, who was equally boisterous following the Nittany Lions’ 30-13 win over Illinois in their Big Ten opener on Saturday.

Moments later, Franklin expressed his thoughts on a game that never seemed too close or blown out of proportion.

“It was beautiful to me,” Franklin said.

On a day quarterback Drew Allar saw true adversity for the first time as a starter, Penn State’s defense sharpened up and created opportunities for second chances.

“Nothing is perfect,” said Allar, who completed less than 50% of his pass attempts (16 of 33) for 208 yards.

While perfection is hard to come by, the Nittany Lions’ ability to march to a 17-point margin of victory behind a struggling offense likely says something about the state of the program.

Ahead of a much larger test when Penn State returns home to welcome Iowa to Beaver Stadium on Saturday for its annual White Out game (7:30 p.m., CBS3), here are a few takeaways that bode well for the team:

Just months after he was placed on scholarship, linebacker Dominic DeLuca has already tallied two takeaways on the season. DeLuca’s first-quarter forced fumble against Illinois ignited a fire in the Penn State defense, which forced five turnovers on Saturday.

“Once we get one, they all start rolling,” DeLuca said.

Fighting Illini quarterback Luke Altmyer showed promise on an 11-play, 46-yard opening drive, but he struggled as the game clock elapsed and tossed four interceptions after DeLuca’s forced fumble, which was recovered by linebacker Kobe King.

Two interceptions followed the fumble — one by linebacker Abdul Carter and the other by nickel corner Daequan Hardy. Cornerbacks Johnny Dixon and Cam Miller rounded out the group with picks off Altmyer.

Out of Penn State’s six scoring drives, four were sparked by turnovers.

“I felt like [Altmyer] was a little rattled throughout the game,” said Carter, wearing a silver “Linebacker U” chain. “He looked at his target and that’s where he was going, and the defense made a lot of plays on the ball.”

» READ MORE: Pundits say No. 7 Penn State’s early schedule is soft. James Franklin says it’s by design.

In what was a dominant afternoon for Penn State’s defense, Allar and the offense struggled to muster much momentum, with the exception of a dazzling 33-yard diving catch by wide receiver Liam Clifford and a trick-play touchdown from running back Trey Potts to tight end Tyler Warren in the third quarter.

Against a staunch Illinois defensive line led by All-American tackle Jer’Zhan Newton, the Nittany Lions had trouble blocking consistently in their first true test of the trenches and also tallied two false starts and a hold.

Saturday marked Penn State’s first game since last season’s opener against Purdue in which a player failed to rush for at least 60 yards. Through three games, neither Nick Singleton nor Kaytron Allen has registered a 20-yard rush.

“Yeah, we ‘ve jus got to figure it out,” said Singleton, who was held to a season-low 37 rushing yards.

Question marks were raised after kicker Sander Sahaydak missed two field goals from inside 40 yards in the season opener against West Virginia and was benched for Columbia transfer Alex Felkins in the second half.

Neither kicker attempted a field goal against Delaware in Week 2, but Felkins returned to the spotlight at Illinois, nailing 3 of 4 field-goal attempts on Saturday — his longest make from 45 yards.

“Kicking in the Ivy League is almost harder because you run out of the tunnel and you might know like half the people in the stands,” Felkins said. “You get to Penn State, and it’s almost just like a white mass; it’s almost just like painting on the wall.”

After missing the first two games of the year, Hardy made his season debut alongside defensive linemen Coziah Izzard and Amin Vanover. Hardy caught Altymer’s second interception, and Izzard tallied two sacks in their returns to the gridiron.

Penn State’s offense lacked one of its top playmakers in starting wide receiver Harrison Wallace III, who dressed and warmed up before kickoff but didn’t play. Fellow receiver Malick Meiga, a special teams captain, missed his second consecutive game.

“Our medical people … were not comfortable. They didn’t feel like he was ready to go,” Franklin said of Wallace, who has hauled in 10 receptions for 98 yards for the Nittany Lions this season.

Two more games remain before Penn State freshmen will begin to burn redshirts.

Linebacker Tony Rojas, safety King Mack, and cornerbacks Elliot Washington II and Zion Tracy — freshmen with Franklin’s “green light” — made their third game appearances on Saturday.

Defensive end Jameial Lyons, listed in Franklin’s “yellow light,” traveled with the team but did not play against Illinois. He appeared against West Virginia and tallied his first career sack against Delaware.

Those who’ve appeared in one game thus far: quarterback Jaxon Smolik, tight end Andrew Rappleyea, defensive tackle Ty Blanding, safety DaKaari Nelson, cornerback Lamont Payne Jr., linebackers Ta’Mere Robinson and Kaveion Keys, and offensive linemen J’ven Williams, Chimdy Onoh, and Anthony Donkoh.