Oct. 21, 2000

Box Score | Video highlights of the game!

By DAN LEWERENZ
Associated Press Writer

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Shamar Finney returned an interception for a touchdown and Rashard Casey threw two TD passes and ran for a score to lead Penn State to a 39-25 victory over Illinois on Saturday.

Penn State's Joe Paterno passed Pop Warner for sole possession of second place on the major college career victory list. Paterno has 320 victories, trailing Bear Bryant's 323.

Just three plays into the second half, Finney picked off Kurt Kittner's pass and returned it 49 yards for a touchdown, giving the Nittany Lions (3-5, 2-2 Big Ten) a 21-10 lead. Kittner's pass was intended for Aaron Moorehead, but Finney caught it in stride and ran untouched into the end zone.

The Illini (4-3, 1-3) closed to 21-18 on Kittner's 55-yard touchdown pass over the middle to Greg Lewis. Rocky Harvey caught Kittner's pass for the 2-point conversion.

Penn State moved deep in Illinois territory late in the third quarter, but was pushed back to the 34 by penalties and a sack. Ryan Primanti kicked a career-long 51-yard field goal to give the Nittany Lions a 24-18 lead.

The Nittany Lions were forced to punt from their own end zone on the next possession, but Eugene Wilson fumbled the return, and Penn State's Bob Jones recovered on Penn State's 33.

Casey fumbled a snap with 13:24 left in the game, giving the ball to Illinois. But one minute later, Kittner's second interception was returned 31 yards by Bhawoh Jue. Two plays later, Casey threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Watson. Casey threw complete to Tony Johnson for the 2-point conversion, giving Penn State a 32-18 lead.

Christian Morton's 53-yard punt return set up Illinois' final score, a 4-yard touchdown pass from Kittner to Josh Whitman that made it 32-25 with 5:46 left.

But Casey put the game away, slipping four tackles and running across the field for a 39-yard touchdown run - the longest run of his career - that set the final score. Casey completed 13 of 24 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns.

The win extended Penn State's winning streak over Illinois to seven games. The Illini have won just one of 10 meetings between the teams, a 10-8 victory at Illinois in 1960.

Kittner's 8-yard pass to Lewis with 10:43 left in the second quarter brought the Illini within 14-10 and capped an 18-play scoring drive the longest in Illinois history.

The Illinois defense stopped Penn State on a fourth-and-one on the next possession. Kittner threw 57-yards to Walter Young to put the Illini in scoring position, but Derek Wake blocked Steve Fitts' 35-yard field goal attempt. The Illini had one more chance in the first half, but Fitts' 29-yard field-goal try with 33 second left went wide right.

Eric McCoo scored the second of his two touchdowns on a 14-yard pass from Rashard Casey, putting the Nittany Lions up 14-3 with 2:55 left in the first quarter. The score was set up by Casey's 48-yard pass over the middle to Tony Stewart.

Illinois drove into scoring position on the following possession, but Harvey was tackled for a 3-yard loss on third-and-two, forcing the Illini to kick. Fitts' 39-yard field goal made it 7-3.

McCoo put the Nittany Lions up 7-0 with a 7-yard run with 9:01 left in the first quarter. Casey hit all three of his passes for 47 yards on the drive.