This is not what you need right now if you’re Illini football coach Bret Bielema and his team. #7 Penn State, who currently rank among the top 20 nationally in both scoring offense and scoring defense, are coming to down.
The Nittany Lions are sixth in scoring off, averaging 50.5 ppg, while checking in at No. 17 nationally in scoring def (11.0 points per game).
Penn State at Illini Football FYIs
Saturday, Sept. 16, 11 a.m. CT
Memorial Stadium, Champaign, IL
Season Preview Article: go here
Season Preview Appearance on WGN News Now: go here
Season Preview Appearance on ESPN Radio: go here
TV: FOX BIG NOON KICKOFF with Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt on the call (but no longer coming on site, as they had previously promised).
For more on the FOX Sports pregame show becoming an extension of the Colorado Sports Information Department, go here.
Illinois Fighting Illini Preview
The good news is that after this game, things get a lot easier for the Illini. On paper, this is their toughest game of the season. And while Kansas absolutely ransacked them, maybe it is true- Jalon Daniels will be the Big 12 Player of the Year.
If so, then that lopsided loss isn’t as bad.
This weekend, we also saw Toledo hang 70 (50 in the first half) on a FCS opponent, so maybe the Rockets are a double digit win team, and that narrow escape from the MAC champs isn’t as awful either?
As bad as this Illini football team has looked through the first two, it is not time to rule out a bowl berth yet.
As we’ve seen through the first couple weeks, the Big Ten West is overall pretty bad, and thus wide open.
So while you can say goodbye to the idea of 8 or 9 wins this year, chances for Ws will be plentiful once we get into divisional play.
However, neither coordinator looked like they had game-planned for Kansas this past Friday, and Aaron Henry’s defense got absolutely gashed. So far, he looks in over his head with this gig.
But hey, Jim Leonhard is there on staff now, should things continue to go south.
Overall, the Illini defense looks completely lost, and a shell of what it was last year. The running game hasn’t gotten on track yet, but then again it hasn’t had a full opportunity yet.
There is good news, as this team has a real quarterback in Luke Altmyer. Not only is he a very talented, dual threat quarterback, but he has cajones.
Or guts, moxie, chutzpah, stones, heart, soul- whatever you want to call it.
If Barry Lunney can do a better job with play-calling, and help Altmyer to get the ball to Isaiah Williams and company, then maybe they can actually stay competitive in this one.
Because when you have a great QB, in power five college football, you’re going to be competitive. But so far, the OL has been dismal, and they need to be a lot better, in order to keep him healthy.
Penn State Nittany Lions Preview
James Franklin just can’t get over that “3rd best team in the Big Ten East, and thus best 3rd team in the conference overall” hump.
Michigan was down, and there for the taking, but it was actually Michigan State who stepped up, albeit briefly, to claim second position behind Ohio State, in the mid 2010s.
(Given the news today, MSU isn’t coming back for a long, long time).
Michigan has gotten the best of OSU the past two years, but we’re still waiting to see if Penn State can make a similar jump.
They whipped Delaware (1-1, 1-0), 63-7 on Saturday as they racked up a total of 541 yards and scored eight offensive touchdowns while holding the Blue Hens to only 140 total yards and one touchdown.
Sophomore quarterback Drew Allar is just as hyped as any QB to ever come through State College.
He completed 22-of-26 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown last week. Meanwhile Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen combined for 155 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. The Lions ground attack put up 315 rushing yards in total. Illinois will really have their hands full.
https://t.co/Gzd12Fev0D pic.twitter.com/PbavrCoPjU
— CFB Victory Model (@cfbvictorymodel) September 11, 2023
Prediction
Penn State 41, Illini Football 20
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.