It's fair to say Kittner and the entire Illinois offense had a horrible first half. Every possession the Illini had in the first quarter ended in a punt and at the end of 15 minutes of play in the quarter, the Nittany Lions already put two touchdowns on the scoreboard.
Kittner was 2-for-9 passing in the first quarter, obviously having a difficult time finding receivers and throwing for a mere 17 yards. His passes were floating away from his receivers, and he lacked control over his offense.
The second quarter wasn't much of a change for Illinois or Kittner.
A punt, then an interception by Penn State hero Shawn Mayer and then another punt wasn't exactly what the Illini were hoping the second quarter would bring. Only one good drive in the first half was what Kittner could muster. It ended in a 17-yard touchdown strike to Brian Hodges. The Illini were in trouble and the offense was sputtering at halftime, trailing 21-7.
"He was trying to do too much," Illinois coach Ron Turner said about his quarterback. "He just needs to relax and go out and have some fun."
That's what Kittner and the Illini offense did after halftime. Turner said the locker room scene wasn't a screaming and yelling match, just calm reassurance the offense would find its niche.
It finally did, when it mattered most, in the fourth quarter. The Illini were down 21-14 to start the final stanza, but tied the game quickly as Kittner sneaked up the middle for a one-yard score.
After Penn State quarterback Matt Senneca threw an interception, the Illini tacked on a field goal by Peter Christofilakos. Illinois got another field goal later in the quarter and after Larry Johnson ran back the ensuing kickoff to retake the lead, Kittner had to reload and take his Illini offense down field for one more score.
"He makes the big plays," halfback Rocky Harvey said. "And everybody knows he can make them."
The senior had no problem making the big play one more time. He connected with wide receiver Brandon Lloyd for 30 yards on a third-and-10 and completed another pass to Aaron Moorhead.
The passing game opened up the middle for running backs Carey Davis and Harvey, who in the next five plays combined to retake the lead from the Lions.
But the key play of the drive was the third down conversion for Lloyd for 30 yards. Without that completion, the Illini would have been stuck in an extremely tough spot, but Kittner, the complete quarterback, responded when it mattered most.
He hit his receiver, did what needed to be done late in the game and got Illinois the win.
"It shows what kind of competitor he is," Turner said. "With the game on the line I want the ball in his hands."
They got it there, and once again, Kittner got them the win.
