A two-touchdown win over an opponent that came in 4-0. Penn State needed about 45 minutes to take control of the game against Illinois on Saturday night, but the Nittany Lions were clearly the better team in a 21-7 victory.

Kudos to PSU’s run game and a defense that shut down the Fighting Illini ground attack and chased Luke Altmyer all over the court.

It wasn’t perfect, but the undefeated Lions find different ways to win. PennLive’s Penn State text message subscribers agreed, judging by their responses.

Some comments have been edited for clarity. Before we get to them, remember that if you want to be part of our weekly Subtext mailbag and ask a question, in addition to getting other Penn State updates straight to your phone, our PennLive Sports Insider page has more details.

I can finally say that the O-line is doing much better. They still have challenges in the coming weeks. Drew Allar missed a few throws, although Omari Evans’ was nice. I’m happy about Kaytron Allen’s big night.

Actually, that Allar completion you referenced went to Harrison Wallace III. The stadium announcer made a mistake. Evans had no catch. As for Allen’s play, he was a problem for the Illinois defense from his very first carry. It looked like the Illini defenders were eager to tackle Allen (102 yards) in the second half.

The defense was disruptive again and adjusted well after the break. Abdul Carter was a beast the entire game. We need to find a reliable kicker and we can’t beat ourselves on penalties. I suspect these two things will eventually come into play against better competition. Andy Kotelnicki stuck with what worked Saturday and gave credit to the offensive line, but where were the deep shots we’re so used to seeing? I think Drew Allar played a little tight and would have liked to see them run play-action and maybe some QB keepers outside the zone reads that looked wide open. All in all, a great win against a well-coached and motivated team.

I think when Penn State wins a game like it did against Illinois, it sends a statement to the rest of the conference. This is a physical offense when it wants to be, and PSU can also create explosive play on the perimeter in the passing game if the defense doesn’t have a deep safety. The Illini invited PSU to run the ball and the Lions did just that. I thought it would have been a good idea to include Omari Evans in the passing game, but the offensive game plan of putting the ball down the Illini’s throats was the right call. Abdul Carter is occasionally called for a penalty, but seeing how he consistently terrorizes attacking tackles is an indication of how special a talent he is.

Hey, Bob! I’m sitting in Lot 12 waiting for the traffic to move. I thought the first drive of the third quarter was the best drive PSU has put together in a long time. Good mix of running and passing, O-line making holes, backs running through the gut, chewed up half of the third quarter. When was the last time we saw that? The next ride started well, but I didn’t like it getting stuck. I stepped into the Illinois 30 and that’s when the play calling became questionable. Going for it on fourth down seems to indicate that Franklin has confidence in the defense, but not confidence in the placekicker.

Totally agree with your comment about the first ride of the third quarter. The Penn State offense’s possession was one of the keys to the victory. Twelve plays (eight runs), 74 yards, capped by a Nicholas Singleton touchdown run. A 7-7 tie was broken and Andy Kotelnicki continued to lean on the run game from then on. And yes, Penn State has a pretty big placekicker problem.

I found the offensive game plan very interesting. Few balls on the field, maybe just one? It looked like they wanted to beat Illinois at their own game. It was strange to see that there were only seven points on the scoreboard at halftime. The defense needs to be more disciplined. I absolutely love Tyler Warren for the Heisman!! Dude can do anything.

Illinois’ defense played with safety depth on many occasions and it was clear early on that PSU could do a lot of damage with the run game if it stayed patient. I thought the offensive line was impressive and continued to push the Illinois front around even after guards Sal Wormley and JB Nelson left the game.