Sep. 17—The first of many critical social media posts came early Saturday in a game in which Penn State never trailed.

Understanding that fans can be a tad irrational, criticizing Drew Allar for his performance in the Nittany Lions’ 30-13 victory at Illinois showed they also can be out of touch.

Allar was Penn State’s best offensive player against the Illini, even though he didn’t account for a touchdown. In his first start on the road and against a Big Ten opponent, he never lost his composure or the football.

That’s not earth-shaking news. Allar has thrown 148 career passes, has played in 13 games and has yet to commit a turnover.

He wasn’t remotely close to tossing an interception against Illinois, which, by the way, has quality defensive personnel. Yet Allar managed to protect the football once again.

“It’s my No. 1 priority, by far,” he said. “We talk about it all the time. We want to lead the nation in turnover differential. Not having any turnovers is huge because you’re not swinging the momentum of the game.

“There weren’t any times in the game that the ball was put in jeopardy. We take pride in that as an offense.”

On the flip side, Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer threw four interceptions and it could easily have been six. Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, considered the top quarterback in the Big Ten, threw three interceptions Saturday against Bowling Green.

Look, the Penn State offense did not have its finest performance at Memorial Stadium. Far from it. But the Lions did score 30 points for the 10th straight game, which leads the nation, and they did mount a 70-yard touchdown drive when the outcome was in doubt in the third quarter.

It wasn’t a pretty performance, but they don’t have to apologize for it either. They faced adversity for the first time this season and still won by 17 points on the road with the help…