Penn State earned a hard-fought win over Illinois in Week 5.

The team improved to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in conference play. Several players had standout performances, and the team recognized 5 Players of the Game on Sunday.

On offense, running backs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton earned the honors. Allen rushed 18 times for 102 yards and 1 TD. Singleton rushed 16 times for 94 yards and 1 TD.

Interestingly, Allen and Singleton have the same amount of carries on the season with 53. Singelton already has 408 yards while Allen has 289.

On the other side of the ball, Abdul Carter and Zane Durant were selected. Carter racked up 7 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, and 1 pass deflection. Durant got 4 tackles, 1 sack, and 2 tackles for loss.

Carter now leads the team with 3 sacks on the season and is 2nd in tackles with 12.

Finally, even the special teams got some love. DaKaari Nelson earned a shoutout after collecting a tackle on a return. This is the 2nd consecutive week that Nelson earned Player of the Game honors.

Drew Allar’s stats don’t jump off the page, but the QB did what he needed to do. Allar completed 15 of 21 passes for 135 yards with no turnovers.

The next test for the Nittany Lions will come in Week 6 against the UCLA Bruins.

Every conference win matters for a Nittany Lions team that has College Football Playoff aspirations. The toughest test remaining on the schedule will likely be a match against No. 3 Ohio State in November.