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Penn State vs. Illinois Prediction Roundtable

By Barry Leonard Jr.

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Penn State heads home this week after two weeks on the road to face the Illinois Fighting Illni. The Nittany Lions are currently 6-2 and are looking to improve their position in the Big Ten and get into a better bowl game. This week’s opponent upset the Nittany Lions last year in an ugly game in Champaign.

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The Nittany Lions have struggled on offense this year, but put up 31 points in the thrilling one-point victory over Maryland. Surprisingly, it has been the defense that has struggled over the last two weeks. Thankfully for this game, Illinois is banged up on offense and should make for a good bounce-back game for the defense.

Penn State is undefeated at Beaver Stadium this year and the home crowd is sure to be fired up after going two weeks without a home game.

As the Nittany Lions prepare to face the pesky Illini, check out the VBR staff predictions for this week’s game.

Lead Editor Barry Leonard Jr.

It’ll be great to see the Nittany Lions back inside of Beaver Stadium in front of the home crowd. After a 1-1 road trip, Penn State will look to start a new win streak.

The offense is coming off a good performance last week, specifically Christian Hackenberg. Though he was bailed out a few times by his wide receivers, Hackenberg played great. He threw for 315 yards and three touchdowns and though he had a fumble, he avoided any interceptions.

Hackenberg should once again have a big game this week. Look for the junior signal-caller to throw for two touchdowns adjacent the Illini.

Freshman running back Saquon Barkley is fully healthy now and will look to have a better performance this week than he did last week. I expect Barkley to carry the load on offense and eclipse 100 yards rushing and add a touchdown.

Though the Penn State defense has struggled, particularly against the run the last two weeks, Illinois is missing a running back and haven’t been very productive on the ground. Pro-style quarterback Wes Lunt will test the defense a bit and will likely hit some of his shots downfield, it won’t be enough.

The Nittany Lions remain unbeaten at home by a score of 27-17.

Staff Writer Marty Leap

After facing dual-threat quarterbacks the past two weeks, the Nittany Lions will see a more traditional drop back passer in Wes Lunt on Saturday. The Fighting Illini’s quarterback is the best passer Penn State has seen thus far this season, so their 17th ranked pass defense (161.4 yards per game) will be tested on Saturday. A key to this game will be the ability of the Nittany Lion defense to pressure Lunt. Lunt is not very mobile and this makes it difficult for him to avoid sacks. I look for Carl Nassib to have a big game pressuring the quarterback on Saturday. The Illini offense is also very one dimensional, they rank 114th nationally in rushing offense, which makes defending it a little easier.

Penn State needs to exploit the poor rushing attack of Illinois. The Fighting Illini will try and throw the ball, and Penn State’s defense needs to take of advantage of this to try and force three and outs/quick drives in an effort to help tire out a strong Illinois defense.

On offense, James Franklin has said Saquon Barkley is almost 100% and I look for him to have a bounce back game after rushing for just 65 yards and fumbling twice against Maryland. The Fighting Illini defense checks in 30th nationally in total defense, so they do have a strong defense, but Penn State has better athletes and should be able to make some plays. Also, Illinois ranks last in the Big Ten in sacks so there is reason to believe Christian Hackenberg will be given time to throw the ball Saturday.

Ultimately, I see the Nittany Lions getting a W on Saturday. Illinois will connect on a few big pass plays to help them put up some points, but I believe their inability to run the ball will really hurt them. I believe Saquon Barkley will eclipse 100 yards rushing and that Christian Hackenberg will throw a pair of touchdowns in a Penn State victory.

Penn State 24
Illinois 17

Staff Writer Nick Lemon

The Lions’ run at redemption continues as their final six games of the season are all against teams that handed them a loss in 2014. Penn State will look to avoid being tripped up by Illinois on the newly installed Beaver Stadium sod and remain undefeated at home this season.

Although Penn State’s passing game finally opened up last week, the offense will likely need a more balanced effort against a very solid Illinois defense. I don’t expect Illinois to completely sell out and stack the box against the run which will allow Saquon Barkley to grind out 100 yards rushing. Christian Hackenberg will have an up and down afternoon facing the Illini defense; however, when the game is on the line Chris Godwin and the receiving corps will step up and make the clutch plays.

Much to everyone’s relief, Penn State’s defense is not burdened by the task of containing a running quarterback this week. However, Illini signal-caller Wes Lunt and the offense have enough talent to neutralize the Lion’s pass rush and move the chains utilizing their short passing game. I expect Penn State’s defensive unit to give up substantial yardage through the air but buckle down when Illinois nears the red zone.

Penn State gets a few clutch field goals from Joey Julius and the defense answers the bell in the fourth quarter to secure another crucial victory. Penn State wins a hard-fought defensive battle, 20-17.

Staff Writer Shane Lunnen

With Penn State returning home this week after a win, they take on an improved Illinois team.  Christian Hackenberg is coming off a three-touchdown performance versus Maryland and hopefully the good vibes continue.  He has also thrown 10 touchdowns in the last five games without throwing an interception.

The Illini play a very balanced defense, but their weakness is getting to the quarterback with only 9 total team sacks on the year.  Of course, the Penn State offensive line has a way of making the worst defenses look like the 1985 Chicago Bears and this week they will most likely be without Andrew Nelson again.  It will be a tough task for the offensive line to keep Hack upright.

Another question coming into this one is if Saquon Barkley can get back on track.  He had a very pedestrian game against the Terps because they sold out completely on stopping him.  I think Penn State needs to get back to mixing it up with Barkley and Akeel Lynch.

Illinois quarterback Wes Lunt is a more traditional drop back quarterback that should be a welcome sight to a Penn State defense that has struggled against mobile quarterbacks.  Tackling has also been an issue for Nittany Lion defenders the last couple games and I would imagine that was an emphasis in practice this week.  Since Illinois doesn’t have much of a running game, I expect defensive coordinator Bob Shoop to dial up a lot of blitzes to prevent Lunt from getting comfortable in the pocket.

With all of that said and given this game is a noon start on Halloween, I expect Penn State to come out sluggish but ultimately win this one.  Illinois is one dimensional on offense which plays to the Nittany Lion’s strength on defense.  My guess it’s close going to the 4th quarter where Penn State will shine and pull away for a victory.  Penn State wins 27-17.

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