Sports Network | October 9, 2010
University Park, PA (Sports Network) – Mikel Leshoure ran for 119 yards as Illinois rolled to a 33-13 road win over the Penn State Nittany Lions in Big Ten action at Beaver Stadium.
Nathan Scheelhaasse completed 15-of-19 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown in helping Illinois (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten) notch its first-ever win in Happy Valley.
Rob Bolden had a brutal day under center for Penn State (3-3, 0-2), completing only 8-of-21 passes for 142 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Derek Moye finished with 106 yards and a score on three catches.
PSU kicker Collin Wagner accounted for the only points of the first quarter with a 28-yard field goal at the 4:39 mark, which was set up by an Illinois fumble deep in its own territory.
The Fighting Illini took a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter on Scheelhaasse’s 18-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Jenkins.
Illinois pushed its lead to 14-3 at the 9:39 mark of the second quarter, when Nate Bussey stepped in front of a Bolden pass and returned it 16 yards to the end zone.
But Bolden answered right back on the first play of PSU’s next drive, hooking up with Moye for an 80-yard scoring strike to cut the deficit to 14-10.
Illinois extended the margin to 17-10 on its next possession, as Derek Dimke booted a 50-yard field goal to cap a seven-play drive.
Another fumbled punt by Illinois return man Jack Ramsey set the Nittany Lions up with a 1st-and-goal at the nine-yard line, but they had to settle for three points on a 22-yard field goal by Wagner with 2:49 to play until halftime.
From there it was all Illinois. The Fighting Illini put together a 10-play drive to close out the half, and Dimke made it a 20-13 game with a 31-yard field goal as time expired.
Illinois pushed its lead to 27-13 midway through the third quarter, when Jason Ford found Evan Wilson for a four-yard touchdown on a halfback option pass.
Dimke added field goals of 41 and 37 yards to close out the scoring and
PSU had only seven first downs and 235 yards of total offense for the game.