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Williams, Penn State pop Illinois

Sep 28, 2008 - 6:04 AM STATE COLLEGE, Pennsylvania (Ticker) -- Derrick Williams scored touchdowns three different ways as 12th-ranked Penn State rolled to a 38-24 victory over No. 21 Illinois in a Big Ten Conference clash on Saturday.

Williams became the first player in the Joe Paterno era to score a rushing, receiving and return touchdown in the same game.

Williams caught a 22-yard scoring pass from Daryll Clark in the first quarter, ran for a five-yard touchdown in the second and returned a kickoff 94 yards for a TD in the fourth. The 6-foot, 194-pound senior accounted for 241 yards of total offense for Penn State (5-0, 1-0 Big Ten).

Clark was 14-of-20 passing for 181 yards and two touchdown strikes. He also rushed for 50 yards on 11 carries with one score.

The Nittany Lions rushed for 241 yards en route to 422 yards of total offense. Evan Royster had 139 yards on 19 carries.

It was pretty difficult," Royster said of running on the rain-soaked field. "You probably saw that I slipped a couple of times. It's just something you've got to adjust to and take shorter steps and stuff."

The teams split four touchdowns in the first quarter. Illinois struck first as Jason Ford scored on a one-yard run to cap a six-play, 60-yard drive.

Clark added his own one-yard run to knot the game. Juice Williams then found Arrelious Benn with a 33-yard strike to give Illinois its last lead.

Clark and Derrick Williams then connected on a 21-yard scoring play to tie the game at 14-14.

"I thought they did a really good job. They went down and then they came back and then went down," Paterno said. "They hung in there and didn't lose their poise. I thought we played a good football game against a good football team. Obviously, it's a good win for us."

Penn State scored 17 of the next 20 points to take a 31-17 lead. A five-yard run by Derrick Williams gave the Nittany Lions a 21-14 advantage at the half.

The teams traded field goals in the third quarter. Illinois added its three points on the final play of the period.

But Derrick Williams made the Illini pay dearly. On the ensuing kickoff, he took the ball on the 6 and sprinted 94 yards through defenders to make it 31-17.

"I think that was a big, big play," Paterno said. "That put us up by two scores."

Derrick Williams was quick to pass along credit to others on the special teams.

"When I was running (back the kick return), did you guys see how easy it was for me?" he asked. "The only thing I had to do was run. It was like there was a clear highway because the guys in front of me did a great job clearing the way, all I had to do was run through it."

Juice Williams and Benn connected again, this time from 54 yards out, to make it 31-24. However, Clark found Andrew Quarless with a 17-yard pass with nine minutes left to cap the scoring.

"Quarless, when he concentrates, is a good football player," Paterno said. "I think he had a pretty good game today."

Benn led the way for the Illini (2-2, 0-1). The sophomore receiver have five catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns.

"I had a good game personally, but that doesn't matter," Benn said. "That can go down the drain because we didn't come away with a win. All that matters is if we win."

Illinois coach Ron Zook liked his team's effort.

"As we go back and look at this game, we're gonna see with the momentum swings," Zook said. "When you're playing on the road, there are going to be momentum swings and you're going to have to withstand the onslaught, and I thought - for the most part - our guys did that. They didn't quit. They kept coming back."