Penn State vs. Illinois preview

Nittany Lions look for win in Big Ten opener

BY THE NUMBERS: #12 Penn State Welcomes #22 Illinois

Date: Saturday, September 28th
Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
Location: Beaver Stadium / State College, PA

After 15 minutes of football against Temple last week, the scoreboard at Beaver Stadium read 0-0. That’s when the Penn State offense decided to turn things up, scoring an impressive 31 points in the second quarter on the way to a 45-3 win against the highly-inspired Owls. Through four weeks, the Nittany Lions have coasted to a 4-0 record with dominating wins against non-conference opponents and now face their first true test of 2008.

Following a spectacular season and trip to a BCS Bowl (Rose) in 2007, Coach Ron Zook will bring a young, improving Illinois team to State College this Saturday night for the teams’ Big Ten opener. The Illini lost in week one to a strong Missouri team 52-42, but have improved to 2-1 with back-to-back wins against Eastern Illinois and Louisiana Lafayette, respectively.

Illinois is relying heavily once again on the play of Sophomore QB Juice Williams, who is responsible for more than 65 percent of the Illini’s offensive yards this season. If the Illini hope to compete against Penn State on Saturday, they will need a huge game out of Sophomore WR Arrelious Benn and will need to play better defensively after giving up 90 points through the first three games. Let’s not forget that Illinois defeated Penn State 27-20 in Champaign just a year ago.

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For further analysis of this weekend’s game, let’s take a closer look at the numbers:

• 1 - Penn State is number one in the Big Ten in both rushing offense (274.3) and passing offense (264.3). The Nittany Lions will look to use this balance to exploit an Illini defense that is allowing 163.0 rushing yards and 208.3 passing yards per game this season. It appears this will be a game of pick your poison for the Illini.

• 15 - An amazing 15 players have caught a pass for Penn State this season, making up the Big Ten’s most explosive passing offense. The attack has been lead by WR’s Jordan Norwood (18 catches, 318 yards, 4 TDs) and Deon Butler (14 catches, 229 yards, 2 TDs). Look for Penn State to take advantage of a struggling Illinois secondary.

• 21 - It is often said that the quality of a team’s defense can be determined by its combination of sacks and interceptions. If that’s the case, then Penn State’s 21 puts them among the best in the Big Ten and maybe the country. The Nittany Lions have recorded 14 sacks and have forced seven interceptions from opposing quarterbacks so far this season. On Saturday, they will have to contain Illinois QB Juice Williams, who has thrown five interceptions but has proven to be mobile and elusive in the pocket.

• 274.3 - In addition to its passing offense, the Penn State rushing offense has been equally impressive averaging 274.3 yards per game (8 th in the nation). RBs Evan Royster and Stephfon Green have shared the load and have given the Nittany Lions the depth that every team dreams of. Behind an experienced offensive line, look for Penn State to run the ball first this weekend against an Illini defense that is dead last in the Big Ten against the run.

Notes: Starting defensive linemen Maurice Evans and Abe Koroma returned to practice this week following marijuana possession charges and could play against Illinois... Penn State P Jeremy Boone is averaging a solid 42.3 yards per kick this season... Penn State TE Mickey Shuler is expected to play against Illinois following an ankle injury he suffered last week... Legendary Joe Paterno is expected to coach from the sidelines this weekend while battling soreness in his knee.

> Also be sure to check out our Illinois Correspondent's preview of Illinois @ Penn State!

by Chris Goodrich
BigTen-fans.com Penn State Correspondent

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