Penn State Football: Week 4 Studs and Duds against Illinois

Wide Receiver – Juwan Johnson

Penn State wide receiver Juwan Johnson has had a flair, in his short tenure as a Nittany Lion, for making some dramatic catches.  Perhaps most famously was his last second touchdown grab at Iowa last season that gave Penn State the “walk-off” win.

But, guess what?

For all the flair that accompanies Johnson, that game-winning touchdown grab at Iowa (which I still say wasn’t even intended for him) was the only one of his career – until Friday night.

With Penn State holding a scant 28-24 lead and driving, the Nittany Lions faced a critical 3rd & 12 from the Illinois 16 yard line.  McSorley was flushed from the pocket, stepped up and rifled one to the endzone.

The normally sure-handed Johnson has really been anything but this year.  He does quietly lead the Nittany Lions with 12 catches and is second on the team with 141 receiving yards, but he has had more wide open drops than I can recall. What he doesn’t have, though, are the dangerous, in-traffic catches that Penn State fans have come to expect out of a number one wide receiving target.  In fact, he didn’t even register a single catch against a Kent State team that ranks 118th nationally in pass defense.

As McSorley’s bullet was heading toward the Illinois endzone, I was secretly hoping that KJ Hamler was the target.  Hamler, of course, has been the one all season to step up and make the big plays when Penn State has needed it, and the Nittany Lions needed one here.  Low and behold if the pass wasn’t a perfect strike to Juwan Johnson, and he reeled in the pass for a Penn State score.

Johnson didn’t display too much emotion on the sidelines, but the relief he must have felt not only catching the McSorley missile, but also scoring a big time touchdown had to make him feel good.  Penn State is going to need him to step up in a major way this weekend against Ohio State.  The Nittany Lions will need him to once again be a game changer if they are to pull off the win.  And Friday night was hopefully the start of something that will continue the rest of the season.

While Penn State has posted mind-boggling offensive statistics over the first four games, the defense has yet to play a complete game.  There have been glimpses of their potential, but too often they have been gouged in the first half only to be forced to make subtle changes at half time in order to secure a Penn State victory.  With that in mind, let’s take a look at the Duds list for the week.