The Lions have already matched their win total from last year and look to continue to improve on Halloween at home for the first time in two weeks.
Overview
Penn State(6-2) will return home, and on a fresh slab of grass as they face Illinois(4-3) this Saturday. The Nittany Lions are coming off a 31-30 shootout win over Maryland in which Christian Hackenberg threw three touchdowns. They face the Fighting’ Illini who is a defensive minded team.
Notes:
Location- Beaver Stadium, State College, Pa
Time- Noon (EST)
Television- ESPN2
Opponent- Illinois Fightin’ Illini(4-3, 1-2)
Line- Penn State is a 4 point favorite
Last Meeting- 16-14 Illinois (2014)
Visitors- 2016 PSU commit Blake Gilikin, 2017 3 star QB Kasim Hill, 2016 4 star CB Damar Hamlin, 2016 3 star ATH Khaleke Hudsom
Last Thoughts
There’s a few keys to this game.
1. Penn State is home
2. We’re facing a pocket passer
Christain Hackenberg has been great over his past couple of games and Saquon Barkley is a rising star in the nation. Illinois exploded for a combined 96 points in their first two games, but have been help in check during conference play. Penn State has been shredded by dual threat Quaterbacks in recent weeks, luckily for them, Wes Lunt is a pocket passer. Nassib and Zettel won’t have to running all over the field now and will be able to stay home and bring pressure. Cabinda and Bell won’t have to spy on the QB and can now focus on blitzing and coverage. For the offense, they’ll have to protect Hackenberg as usual. When given time, Christian has shown the ability to find his playmakers down field. Barkley will look to get back on track after only rushing for 60 yards last week.
Prediction:
Penn State 34 Illinois 20
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