Penn State Football went on the road and beat Illinois in the Nittany Lions‘ first road test of 2023 to move to 3-0 on the season. While the Nittany Lions’ offense struggled for most of the day, Penn State was able to continue the nation’s longest of scoring 30 points, extending their streak to 10 games.
Handing out Penn State Football Game Balls from 30-13 win
Offense: Nick Singleton
This was a struggle as the offense struggled with consistency for most of the day. I gave the game ball to Singleton because he was able to find the end zone and was close to the most reliable target Penn State had in the passing game, not saying much in this game. Singleton led the Nittany Lions in receiving, catching 3 passes for 49 yards, and added 37 yards on the ground.
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Defense: Daequan Hardy and Coziah Izzard
Quite opposite from the offense, there were perhaps too many names to choose from for the defensive game ball. I went with Daquon Hardy and Coziah Izzard, however, in their return to action for Penn State after missing the first two games of the season with injuries. Hardy made a fantastic play for an interception in the first half, and Izzard added two sacks. Both contributed heavily in their returns to action.
Special teams: Alex Felkins
Penn State counted on Felkins early against Illinois, kicking four field goals in the first half and making three, including the first two scores of the game to take 3-0 and 6-0 leads. After losing the starting kicking job out of camp, Felkins entered after Sander Sahaydak in the second half against WVU after Sahaydak missed two short field goals. Since stepping in as the starter, Felkins has only missed one attempt, a 52-yarder that was blocked in the second quarter again
Education: Saint Vincent College, Penn State Law School
Location: Washington, DC
Experience:Robert Casturo has covered Penn State football for NittanyCentral since 2022. Casturo previously covered Penn State football through a social media presence (@PSU_FB_Thoughts on X) since 2019. Casturo earned his bachelor's degree from Saint Vincent College in 2015, where he was a punter for 1 season on the Saint Vincent College football team and worked in the athletic department for 2 years as a student manager. Casturo earned his JD from Penn State Law in 2018 where he was a senior editor of the Penn State Law Review.
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