Penn State Football: getting to know Illinois | 3 key players
Penn State Football looks for their fourth straight victory when they host the Illinois fighting Illini in the regular season finale at Beaver Stadium Saturday.
Penn State football gets to stay home for “champions week” as the 2-5 Fighting Illini take their first trip to Beaver Stadium since 2015, a game the Nittany Lions won 39-0.
These teams are going in opposite directions as James Franklin‘s Nittany Lions have won three straight and looking toward a potential bowl game, while Illinois has lost two straight and just fired coach Lovie Smith on Sunday.
We just found out that Illinois leading receiver and maybe their best player period, Josh Imatorbhebhe has opted out of the remainder of the season and will be entering the 2021 NFL Draft. This is a big loss for an offense that only averages 20 points per game and has an unsettled quarterback situation heading into Happy Valley.
The situation is not much prettier on the defensive side of the ball either for Illinois, as they rank near the bottom of the Big Ten in points allowed per game with almost 32. The Illini have surrendered over 40 points three times this season and are squaring off with a Penn State team that for all its struggles this season, does average almost 27 points per game.
Ahead of Saturday’s “champions week” clash, here are three key Fighting Illini to watch for.
Running Backs – Chase Brown & Mike Epstein
With starting quarterback Brandon Peters missing three games this season, Illinois has not only been forced to turn to a pair of young quarterbacks in Coran Taylor and Isaiah Williams, they have been dependent upon the running game.
Sophomore running back Chase Brown ranks fourth in the conference in rushing with 510 yards and two touchdowns, which is made even more impressive sharing the load with fellow running mate Mike Epstein, who’s rushed for 360 yards and four scores this season.
If Illinois is going to hang around or even pull off the upset this weekend, they will need these two to carry the offense and sustain drives against a Penn State defense that ranks 25th in the nation in rushing defense, allowing only 127 yards per game on the ground. In week 8, Northwestern was able to keep both Illini backs under wraps, holding them to a combined 92 yards which resulted in only a 10 point offensive output for Illinois.
In both of Illinois victories this season, Brown and Epstein have combined to rush for over 130 and 200 yards combined, a clear indicator they need these two to get going if they are going to hang around with the Nittany Lions. In last weeks victory, Penn State football held the Spartans to only 69 yards rushing on 31 carries, a mere 2.2 yards per attempt.