Penn State Football has plenty to work on coming off of Penn State‘s first ranked-win of the season, but the Nittany Lions moved to 4-0 Saturday night with plenty to walk away impressed with as well.

Penn State’s rushing attack and defense controlled the night for the Nittany Lions and helped PSU overcome penalty issues and a major kicking problem.

Here are our two game balls and our MVP from Penn State’s 21-7 win over No. 19 Illinois Saturday night:

Game Ball Offense: Nick Singleton

This was a hard decision between Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen.

Both scored touchdowns in the contest and averaged over 5.5 yards per carry on the night.

Ultimately, I gave the offensive game ball to Singleton for his work both on the ground and catching the ball Saturday. In addition to his 94 yards and a touchdown on the ground, Singleton caught two passes for 25 yards Saturday, including a vital catch for nine yards on third and seven on Penn State’s second touchdown drive of the night.

Singleton finished off that drive with a four yard touchdown run that ended up being the winning score for Penn State Saturday.

Nick Singleton play of the night? Chips rusher onto the ground, has to elevate to catch this swing pass, then runs through two defenders to convert on 3d7. #pennstatefootball pic.twitter.com/U5rWgB2a6R

— Steely Cam (@CamBlurn) September 29, 2024

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Game Ball Defense: Abdul Carter

My pick for this was almost Zane Durant.

The junior defensive tackle played an excellent game for the Nittany Lions with a sack, two tackles for a loss and four tackles on the night. I even texted the Nittany Central group chat partway through the third quarter to say that Durant was my pick for a defensive game ball.

But then Abdul Carter took control of the fourth quarter for the Nittany Lions and changed the game like Penn State fans have been expecting him to all season. Carter finished the game with seven tackles, four tackles for a loss, two sacks, a pass defended, and a forced fumble. Carter had his characteristic offsides issues Saturday night, but the confidence Penn State has in his athletic ability and game changing ability paid off Saturday night.

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MVP: Penn State Offensive Line

It was impossible to pick just one MVP for Penn State in this contest. Penn State’s offensive line absolutely mauled Illinois defense all night, leading the Nittany Lions to 241 yards on the ground with 5.6 yards per carry.

From the first drive, Penn State’s offensive line set the tone for what would be a very physical ground attack and pushed Penn State to all three rushing touchdowns on the night.

Penn State rotated a few offensive linemen throughout the game (as JB Nelson and Sal Wormley dealt with injuries) and even had Vega Ioane motioning from the slot again. No matter who was in the game for Penn State’s offensive line, the line was consistently great Saturday night and led the Nittany Lions to a monster day on the ground.

Penn State rode its playmakers Saturday night to a big, resume-building win.

The Nittany Lions had high expectations for Singleton and Allen this year and both players are living up to the hype so far this season. Penn State’s offensive line underwent a ton of change this offseason with three starters leaving for the NFL after last season, but the unit as a whole has really stepped up and played very well so far this season.

MORE: Drew Allar Report Card From Win Over Illinois

 

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