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10 Moments that Defined Illinois Football: Penn State’s Friday night visit to Champaign

On a Friday night in late September, the Illini played their Big Ten opener against Penn State in front of a national audience. Not many expected the Illini to keep pace with an explosive Nittany Lion team led by quarterback Trace McSorley and running back Miles Sanders. But, for two and a half quarters, the Illini allowed us to dream before inevitability reared its cruel head.

Penn State v Illinois
Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images

As many expected, Penn State jumped out to a 21-7 second quarter lead. Then, Reggie Corbin made a video game move as he helped set up an Illini touchdown to cut Penn State’s lead to 21-14 halfway through the second quarter.