Penn State Football wins if this happens … Illini upsets Lions if that does
By Evan Smith
Penn State Football aims to rebound from an upset loss, coming out of the bye week when the Nittany Lions host the Illinois Fighting Illini Saturday at Beaver Stadium
Things weren’t too much fun last time out for Penn State Football, but hopefully Homecoming versus the woeful Fighting Illini of Illinois is exactly what the doctor ordered (oof, bad pun given the Sean Clifford injury…)
What it will take for the Nittany Lions to get back on the winning track vs Illinois?
There is one simple key for both Penn State Football and Illinois to win Saturday’s 12:00 pm homecoming kickoff, and we will look at those key’s in this week’s “We Win If, They Win If” column.
For more Penn State Football vs Illinois coverage, click here for reasons for optimism and worry, the B1G power rankings and the latest on the Clifford injury.
In our last column, we said Iowa would win if they have a 60%+ third down conversion rate … The Hawkeyes finished 7-for-19 (appx 37%). We said Penn State would win if Iowa’s average starting field position was inside their 25 … Well, Iowa’s second drive started on Penn State Football’s eight-yard line so the early Clifford pick wrecked that stat.
So, VBR took their first loss last time, but we’ll take a 5-1 start to the year (just like the Nits)!
Here are Penn State Football’s, and Illinois’ biggest key to victory Saturday:
Illinois Wins If:
Ok let’s be honest, only the diehards reading this can even name a player on the Illini roster (no, Coach Brett Bielema doesn’t count).
So let’s not make this over-complicated; Illinois only has a chance of winning if they find the end zone four times.