5 reasons why Illinois will beat Penn State

Penn State enters this weekend’s matchup against Illinois as a considerable favorite, but this has been quite a wild college football season across the nation. While experts and our staff are certainly not expecting Penn State to drop a game to the Illini, nothing should ever be considered 100% impossible.

Both teams are dealing with quarterback troubles. Penn State has been rotating guys in all week with the uncertainty of Sean Clifford. Illinois has also had lingering injuries in their quarterback room.

The Fighting Illini have a tough matchup ahead of them, but an upset is still certainly possible.

If Illinois is going to pull the upset on Penn State, here are five reasons it could happen.

Penn State's lack of run game

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This will continue to be a key factor until the Nittany Lions find a way to overcome this challenge. The talent is there, but it has yet to be fully unlocked. Sure, we have seen flashes here and there. But it still hasn’t been enough to get the offense consistently moving on the ground. They were held to just 80 yards rushing against an FCS school in Villanova in week four. If Illinois can take advantage of this early, that will be one less factor to worry about throughout the game.

Illinois Running Backs

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This will still be tough for them to do, but it is still possible. With Penn State defensive tackle PJ Mustipher out for the season, that will be a hefty weight off the shoulders of the Illinois running backs. Illinois running back Chase Brown has had a productive season thus far, recording 414 yards and three touchdowns. If he can get the run game going for Illinois, that will be a huge momentum boost for the Fighting Illini offense.

Penn State Quarterback Uncertainty

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Even though both teams are dealing with QB uncertainty, Penn State’s potential starter Ta’Quan Roberson has even less starting experience this season than Illinois backup Artur Sitkowski. Granted, Illinois has gone through a series of splits at their quarterback position. As mentioned, Penn State has opened up quarterback competition between Roberson and Christian Veilleux. Illinois’ passing leader is currently Sitkowski. With more experience than Penn State’s backups, that will be a crucial component to helping Illinois win this game.

Pressuring the Quarterback

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The player to watch for Illinois is senior linebacker Jake Hansen, who has formed himself into a key focal point on the defense. Regardless of who starts, we have seen Clifford make mistakes under deep pressure and Roberson made a few of his own two weeks ago at Iowa, even though he was thrown into a tough situation. If Illinois can apply pressure to the quarterback in fashion, that will be key for them to winning this game.

Penn State is Coming off a Bye Week

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The last point to make is the fact that Penn State is coming off a bye week and you never know how rusty a team will be with a week off. They also dealt with a crazy amount of injuries in their loss to Iowa two weeks ago, including the unfortunate news of losing Mustipher for the season. Illinois is coming off a blowout loss to Wisconsin and this week won’t be any easier. Despite only losing to Purdue 13-9 a few weeks ago, Illinois has struggled all season. However, with a rusty Penn State coming off a bye week, this could turn into a trap game for the Nittany Lions with a road trip to Ohio State coming up next week.

Regardless of who starts for Penn State, it will be tough for Illinois to win this battle in Happy Valley, but it is certainly possible for the Fighting Illini.

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