Penn State’s 78-year-old coach, Joe Paterno, is a fan of Illinois coach Ron Zook. “I like Ron Zook,” Paterno said after his Nittany Lions obliterated the Illini 63-10 Saturday. “He did a good job in Florida. Now he has to rebuild a program. I was angry with our offensive coaches who kept saying to throw the ball at the end of the first half. We didn’t need it. When you get the second-string kids in, you want them in a competitive situation.”
After watching the Illini fall behind 56-3 in the first half, Zook also took a look at his second-stringers. Backup QB Chris Pazan made his third appearance of the season and got significantly more playing time than he had earlier. The junior completed 10 of 15 passes for 84 yards and one touchdown but also threw two interceptions, one of which was returned 76 yards for a touchdown.
Steve Weatherford had his best punting performance of the season for the Illini, averaging 50.2 yards on nine kicks.
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Next: Saturday vs. Wisconsin, 11 a.m., ESPN