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Illinois Postgame Notes
Illinois 16, Penn State 14
Memorial Stadium // Nov. 22, 2014 // Attendance: 35,172

Team Notes

1. Illinois improves to 5-6 on the season with today's win, keeping its hopes of reaching its third bowl in the last five seasons alive.

2. Illinois' defense stonewalled Penn State in today's game, holding the Nittany Lions to 265 total yards and only 93 yards through the air. It marks the fewest total yards by an Illini opponent since UI held UCLA to 219 yards in the 2011 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl (Dec. 31, 2011), and the fewest passing yards by an Illinois opponent since UI held Minnesota to 78 passing yards on Nov. 10, 2012.

3. The Fighting Illini held Penn State to 93 passing yards, the fewest passing yards by the Lions since they were held to 88 yards at Ohio State on Nov. 19, 2011.

4. Illinois kept PSU from moving the ball significantly on all except two of its drives, holding the Lions to 138 yards on 46 plays (2.9 yards per play) on its 10 non-scoring drives not counting the kneel-down at the end of the first half. The Illini limited PSU to 1-of-2 inside the red zone and held the Lions to only three plays over 20 yards on the day.

5. Conversely, the Illini converted 4-of-4 trips inside the red zone: a seven-yard touchdown pass from Reilly O'Toole to Matt LaCosse in the second quarter and three David Reisner field goals in the second half.

6. Illinois saved its best for last, recording 140 yards - just under half of its game total of 283 yards - in the fourth quarter. The Illini also posted eight of their 16 first downs in the final 15 minutes, holding the ball for 9:20 in the fourth quarter.

7. Eight different Illini receivers caught at least one pass in today's game and six players caught at least two passes. Redshirt-freshman Marchie Murdock was one of those eight, hauling in his first career catch: a 17-yarder on Illinois' game-winning drive.

8. Illinois went the entire game without committing a turnover, marking its second-straight game without a turnover. With Penn State fumbling in the second quarter, that gives the Illini the victory in the turnover battle (1-0), marking the second-straight week and third time in the last four games that UI has won the turnover battle.

9. Illinois led 10-7 after the third quarter, marking the first time in 2014 that the Illini led entering the fourth quarter. Today was Illinois' fifth win of the season when coming from behind in the fourth quarter.

Individual Notes

1. Sophomore kicker David Reisner nailed a game-winning 36-yard field goal with eight seconds remaining, marking the first time since 2008 that the Illini have won a game with a field goal in the last two minutes (Matt Eller, 46 yards vs. Iowa, 27-24, Nov. 1, 2008). For the game, Reisner was 3-of-4 on field goals and finished with a career-high 10 points. He had made only 1-of-3 field goals on the season before today. Reisner's three field goals marked the first time since 2011 that an Illini kicker had three or more field goals in a game (Derek Dimke, 3 vs. Western Michigan, 9/24/2011).

2. Freshman wide receiver Mike Dudek had a career-high 11 receptions for 115 yards (10.5 ypc), including a game-high 25-yard catch on Illinois' final drive. His 11 catches break Illinois' freshman record for receptions (previously 54 by Arrelious Benn in 2007) as he now has 62 catches for 902 yards on the season. The 115 yards also give Dudek 90-plus yards for the fourth time this season.

3. Senior quarterback Reilly O'Toole was impressive off the bench on Senior Day, completing 18-of-25 passes for 157 yards and one touchdown, his most complete outing this season and arguably the best performance of his career against an FBS opponent. O'Toole completed 9-of-13 passes for 89 yards in the fourth quarter, engineering two scoring drives and a third that ended in a missed field goal.

4. Senior running back Donovonn Young posted a season-high 62 yards on 14 attempts (4.4 ypr), including 38 yards on seven carries in the fourth quarter (5.4 ypr).

5. Junior defensive end Jihad Ward had a strong game, tying a career high with six tackles, including two TFLs and one sack, and posting one QB hurry. It was only the second solo sack of Ward's Illini career and his first time with 2.0 TFLs in one game.

6. Senior punter Justin DuVernois continued his stellar season, averaging 41.2 yards per punt on eight attempts, including a 71-yarder in the second quarter. That is his second punt over 70 yards this season and sixth boot over 60 yards.

7. Sophomore linebacker LaKeith Walls recorded the first sack of his career in the first quarter when he dropped Penn State QB Christian Hackenberg for a loss of nine on third-and-9, snuffing out a Nittany Lion drive that started in plus territory.

8. Junior safety Clayton Fejedelem posted a career-high eight tackles in today's game, surpassing his previous high of six at Nebraska on Sept. 27, 2014.