Nov 2, 2002

Final Stats

By DAN LEWERENZ
Associated Press Writer

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - Larry Johnson ran for 279 yards to break his own school record and scored on an 84-yard run as No. 20 Penn State defeated Illinois 18-7 Saturday, making the Nittany Lions bowl eligible for the first time in three years.

Penn State (6-3, 3-3 Big Ten) were coming off consecutive losing seasons for the first time in coach Joe Paterno's career.

The Fighting Illini (3-6, 2-3) struggled on offense, despite entering the game leading the conference in average yards at 463.9 per game.

Johnson's scoring run came late in the first quarter, when he waited for a hole, then shrugged off three leg tackles before sprinting down the left sideline to the end zone.

It was the longest run of Johnson's career and put him over the 1,000 mark for the season, making him just the ninth Penn State player to reach the mark, and the first since Curtis Enis ran for 1,363 yards in 1997.

Johnson had a second 84-yard touchdown run called back because of a holding penalty early in the fourth quarter. Still, with a third-quarter 10-yard run, which ended when he fumbled the ball to Illinois' Derrick Strong, Johnson broke the Penn State single-game record of 257 yards that he set two weeks ago against Northwestern.

Jon Beutjer replaced Dustin Ward at quarterback late in the third quarter and led the Fighting Illini on a fourth-quarter rally. Kenny Boyle caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from Beutjer to make it 18-7 with 5:22 left, then the Illinois defense stopped Sean McHugh on third-and-1, forcing Penn State to punt.

But Beutjer's pass to Aaron Moorehead was tipped by Jimmy Kennedy and intercepted in the end zone by Anwar Phillips, allowing Penn State to run out the clock.

Before Boyle's touchdown, Penn State's defense had gone 11 quarters without allowing a touchdown, with the last coming in overtime at Michigan on Oct. 12.

Zack Mills threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Mike Lukac to give Penn State an 18-0 halftime lead.

Wide receiver Gerald Smith ran 12 yards on a reverse, and fullback Paul Jefferson went 10 yards on a shovel pass to set up Robbie Gould's 34-yard field goal, giving Penn State a 3-0 lead with 9:47 left in the first quarter.