Penn State Football’s key Players vs. Illinois start with Ta’Quan Roberson

Coming out of the bye week, Penn State Football hosts the Illinois Fighting Illini for their Homecoming matchup this weekend.

While the Nittany Lions are certainly the better team, there are some things that the rebuilding Illini do very well that Penn State needs to limit.

Plus, Penn State Football needs to take advantage of and exploit Illinois’ weaknesses, and there are certain players who will play a big role in doing so.

There are also some players who will need to step up in place of their injured teammates, even though some players’ injury statuses are still in question.

These are the 5 Nittany Lions whose impact will be very important as Penn State Football takes on Illinois on Saturday.

Penn State Football Quarterback – Ta’Quan Roberson

As I type this, it is still not clear who will be the starting quarterback this weekend against Illinois, and we very well may not know until Penn State Football’s first offensive series of the game. However, if it is Ta’Quan Roberson, it is quite obvious that he will be the single biggest x-factor for this game.

With his arm, Roberson will not be expected to have to throw for 300 yards and 3 touchdowns, but he will have to manage the game well and limit his mistakes.

Illinois likes to play a lot of man coverage, which will create mismatches for the Nittany Lions, especially with Jahan Dotson. When guys get open with those mismatches, Roberson will need to find them and get them the ball.

The Illini are last in the Big Ten in opponent’s passing yards per attempt, second last in passing touchdowns allowed, and third last in opponent’s completion percentage. So Roberson will have his opportunities to have success through the air, but he will need to stay within himself and not force anything.

Perhaps the biggest key for the offense in this game will be Roberson’s legs.

Roberson is very athletic, and a good runner, and some of that was shown against Iowa. The Illini defense has gotten beat at times this year by mobile quarterbacks, especially when Nebraska quarterback Adrain Martinez rushed for 111 yards and a touchdown against Illinois in the first game of the season.

Another thing that man coverage does is takes the secondary’s eyes off the quarterback, so if nothing is open downfield, Roberson will have opportunities to big up big chunks of yardage with his feet.

If Roberson limits turnovers and is smart about when to throw the ball and when to use his legs, Penn State Football will pick up a comfortable homecoming win.