Late collapse stains solid Illinois football first half against Penn State

Illinois football ended up striking first in what has been a heavyweight title fight midway through the 2024 season.

It was a great start for the Illini. On the first series of the game, Illinois drove down the field and managed to put seven points on the board.

Penn State answered quickly, though. The Nittany Lions looked unstoppable on their first drive as well. Scoring slowed from there, though.

Late in the second quarter, Illinois had a mental collapse. A first and goal turned into a 45-yard field goal that was missed wide left. This let Penn State get the ball back with the game still tied 7-7.

Through the first two periods, Illinois and Penn State are going blow for blow and are putting on a great show for both fanbases.

Illinois football first half successes

• Luke Altmyer

When you are going up against a stout Penn State defense, moving the ball down the field is never easy. Luke Altmyer has been able to hit his receivers well, though.

Last season, Altmyer was a turnover machine against the Nittany Lions. He threw four interceptions in that contest. This time around, Illinois’ passer looks different.

Altmyer was throwing the ball well, much like he had the first four games of the 2024 campaign. He has confidence and is crisp with his passes. Altmyer’s accuracy keeps improving too. This kid has shown us he is one of the best quarterbacks in the Big Ten.

• Pat Bryant’s threat

Illinois has plenty of weapons on the field offensively. Early on in the game, we were going to Pat Bryant a lot, and Penn State was having serious trouble.

Bryant caught a few nice passes over the middle for 10 or more yards. He also had a pass come to him on the right side of the field, but it was pass interference on the Nittany Lions. They couldn’t handle him.

Penn State did make some adjustments throughout the first half. Bryant was less effective in the second quarter.

Illinois football first half failures

• Tackling

I know Illinois has a good defense that has fundamentals and can tackle. But man, Illinois’ tackling in the first half against Penn State was awful.

The Nittany Lions had multiple runs or catches that were extended because we couldn’t make a tackle. There were too many high-tackling attempts, and we couldn’t figure out how to upend the Penn State runner.

• Middle of the Defense

Illinois’ defense didn’t play badly, but Penn State was able to move the ball well. It felt like the middle of the Illini defense was the weak area.

Drew Allar had the middle of the field whenever he wanted it. He hit multiple playmakers over the middle to move the chains. Illinois was fine on the defensive line and in the secondary, but the middle of the defense needs to be tweaked in the halftime locker room.

• Mental Mistakes

Illinois should have had the lead heading into halftime. We had the ball near the Penn State end zone, but we continued to shoot ourselves in the foot.

The collapse started with a bad snap over the head of Luke Altmyer. That turned into penalties and bad plays. This led to a missed 45-yard field goal.