Illini Running Game, Defense A Saving Grace

In a week of heinousness - the Padres don't make the playoffs, the Bolts lose to the Raiders, Tony Gwynn announces he has cancer - the Illini victory in State College was some kinda nice. Zook's boys dominated both sides of the ball on their way to a 33-13 drubbing of Joe Pa and his Nittany Lions.

Props especially go to the defense and the running game. On the D side, Nate Bussey had a choice pick at a key spot early in the 2nd quarter, and the defense as a whole held Penn St. freshman quarterback Robert Bolden to a 38.1 completion percentage. The team also picked up a couple sacks and held Evan Royster, soon to be Penn St.'s all-time leading rusher, to 35 yards on 11 carries.

And the running game was unstoppable. Mikel Leshoure ran 27 times for 119 yards, Nathan Scheelhaase 8 times for 61 yards, Troy Pollard 8 times for 55 yards, and Jason Ford 9 times for 47 yards. Even Bud Golden had a carry, finishing off the game with a 3-yard run. All told the Illini netted 282 yards rushing at 5.2 yards per rush.

Derek Dimke also deserves special mention. He was perfect on field goals in a hostile, "white-out" environment, hitting 4 out of 4 field goals, including a 50-yarder.

Oh and Scheelhaase, a redshirt-freshman starting in his first real road game, completed 15 of 19 passes for 151 yards and no picks. Clutch.

Many thanks to the Illini for doing their part to save the week.