Penn State Football: Positional report card for win over Illinois
Quarterback
Trace McSorley ran the ball well and made good reads the majority of the time in the read option with Miles Sanders. He completed 12-of-19 passes for only 160 yards.
Due to the success of the running game, he did not have to pass the ball too often, but he still did finish the game with three passing touchdowns. His one major mistake was taking a chance on a deep ball late in the second quarter that was intercepted.
His winning attitude came into play to start the fourth quarter as he simply took over and made a clutch pass on the first play of the fourth quarter to Juwan Johnson that gave the Nittany Lions a comfortable cushion and momentum to finish out the game.
Tommy Stevens did not receive any playing time, and Sean Clifford came in during the fourth quarter to close out the game. Clifford completed just one pass on one pass attempt, a 44-yard deep ball to Mac Hippenhammer.
In three games this season, Clifford is a perfect 5-for-5 with 195 passing yards and two touchdowns. He is averaging 39 yards per completion and is one of many young Penn State players that will be special in the coming years.
Grade: A-
Running Back
The running game for Penn State was very impressive against Illinois. Miles Sanders led the way with 200 rushing yards and three touchdowns. His best run was a 48-yard touchdown that allowed Penn State to regain the lead after falling behind 24-21.
Many people were concerned that Penn State would be unable to replace Saquon Barkley and would not be the same team. To put Sanders’ performance in perspective, Barkley only rushed for 200 yards three times in his three-year career at Penn State.
Ricky Slade also played very well, and the freshman running back will be another special player for Penn State. He averaged 9.4 yards per carry with 94 rushing yards on 10 carries. He had two touchdowns, including a 61-yard touchdown where he simply outran the Illinois defense.