Penn State rolls over Illinois, 35-7
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Bill O'Brien wouldn't come right out and say that Penn State had extra energy for its Big Ten opener because the team vividly remembered the attempt of Illinois coaches to recruit his players in July in the wake of NCAA sanctions.
But O'Brien's players had no such reluctance Saturday after the Nittany Lions began conference play by drubbing the Fighting Illini, 35-7, before a mostly quiet crowd of 46,734 at Memorial Stadium.
"Having to play against these guys, it was sweet," said senior linebacker Michael Mauti, who was the most outspoken Penn State player against the efforts of Illinois - and other schools - to poach the Lions' roster after penalties that included a postseason ban, scholarship reductions and the ability to transfer elsewhere without having to sit out a year.
"We never forgot about what happened in the summer. To be honest with you, we had that in the back of our minds and that kept us going. So it was just sweet."
Mauti accounted for all three Illinois turnovers, forcing a muffed punt catch and intercepting two passes, including one he returned 99 yards from the Penn State goal line to the Illinois 1. The fumble, which followed a potential three-and-out by the Nittany Lions (3-2 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) on their first series, and the second pick both led to touchdowns.
O'Brien, whose postgame handshake with Illinois coach Tim Beckman was of the order of, if you blinked, you missed it, clearly had no intention of speaking of the incident.
"I said my piece on that in the summertime," he said. "The sanctions are what they are. The people that recruited our kids, they played by the rules."
From start to finish, the Fighting Illini (2-3, 0-1) were not able to match the intensity Penn State brought here from Happy Valley.
Quarterback Matt McGloin sneaked over twice for touchdowns and threw a scoring pass to tight end Matt Lehman. Zach Zwinak, a 232-pound sophomore tailback, rushed for a career-high 100 yards and two touchdowns. The Lions defense stopped Illinois three times in the red zone and didn't allow it to convert a third down until its 10th try.
That's not to say the Nittany Lions played a perfect game. McGloin was sacked three times, including a 13-yarder on a fourth-down play when the snap appeared to come early. Sophomore Sam Ficken missed two more field goals, including a blocked 18-yard try after Mauti's near end-to-end interception.
"I think offensively, again, we left a lot of points off the board," O'Brien said.
The early tone was set by Mauti. Motoring downfield like a runaway train on punt coverage, he forced the fumble that long snapper Michael Fuhrman recovered at the Illinois 26, and Zwinak scored from the 1 a little more than four minutes in.
McGloin sneaked in from a yard out later in the quarter and made it 21-0 with his 21-yard pass to Lehman in the second. Lehman went down after crossing the goal line on a helmet-to-helmet hit by Illinois safety Earnest Thomas, who was ejected. Lehman had the wind knocked out of him but returned.
Illinois threatened to score before halftime but, on a fourth-and-goal from the 5, Nathan Scheelhaase was intercepted at the goal line by Mauti, who was off to the races down the left sideline. He slowed down to set up a couple of blocks but eventually got tripped up at the 1.
Penn State scored on back-to-back drives in the second half with Mauti's interception at midfield setting up the final touchdown, another 1-yard run by Zwinak.
The Lions had gotten their revenge.
