It's almost time for Penn State Football as the Nittany Lions will welcome a ranked Illinois team to Beaver Stadium for a Saturday night showdown in State College.
With that being said, our staff here at Happy Valley Insider offers their predictions for Saturday's afternoon's showdown between the two programs.
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SPREAD: Penn State -19.5 pts || Over/Under: 55.5pts
DYLAN CALLAGHAN-CROLEY — Penn State: 38 || Illinois: 20
There's no doubt in my mind who will win this game. I like Penn State in thismatchup a lot. They have the better offense, they have the better defense and most importantly, they have the better quarterback.
I'm not a huge believer in this Illinois offensive or defensive line, I think both are solid but I'm not sure either are as strong as they've looked so far this season. Defensively, of their 11 sacks, three came in the final drive of their win over Nebraska last week. This will be the best offensive line they have faced this season and Im' not sure they'll be able to get any sort of consistent pressure on Drew Allar.
In terms of Illinois's offense, I expect them to rely mostly on the arm of Luke Altmyer to win this game and I'm not sure that an opposing team can win a game if they're trying to throw the 30+ times. The Nittany Lions' run defense is strong which should help negate a quality Illinois rushing attack, though its notably a rushing attack thats not nearly as strong as in the past. If the Nittany Lions can get pressure on Altmyer and create some chaos against an Illinois offense which hasn't faced much adversity yet, it could be a strong recipe for success.
MARTY LEAP — Penn State: 35 || Illinois: 17
I have gone back and forth this week on predicting Penn State to cover. I have settled on them covering the opening line of 17.5, but not the current (or at least current as of this typing on Thursday afternoon) line of 19.
You can not takeaway the 4-0 start for Bret Bielema and the Fighting Illini. They have a good road win over an improved, but still not on the same tier as Big 10 contenders, Nebraska, and a Kansas win that looks less impressive by the week. In those victories, however, the Jayhawks and Cornhuskers made plenty of mistakes to help give the game away.
Luke Altmyer is one of the most improved quarterbacks in the country this season and the Illini have some very good offensive weapons. There are some good running backs on this team too. The problem is that the interior of the Illini offensive line is a group Penn State's defensive tackles should be able to control.
When Penn State is on offense, the Illini secondary will likely struggle to cover Tre Wallace consistently, run with Omari Evans, or account for Tyler Warren. I believe this could be a big game for Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen as well.
Illinois will score some points, this is a good offense, but the talent gap is too wide between the two teams. On the back of another big game from Drew Allar and a strong defensive performance, Penn State scores a decisive victory to start Big Ten play 1-0.
RICHIE O'LEARY — Penn State: 35 || Illinois: 14
If you told me a month ago, that this game would be a matchup between two Top 20 programs I probably would've called you crazy, but here we are as both Illinois and Penn State are undefeated.
Now I think this one should be rather competitive early on, but expect the Nittany Lions to take the lead and then pour it on after that as I believe Andy Kotelnicki will open up the playbook some more and show off some of the new things he's been integrating into the offense this offseason.
Also keep an eye on Penn State's defensive line, as both of the Illini's offensive tackles have given up a total of nine pressures, six QB hurries and three QB hits so far this year. Look for Abdul Carter and Dani-Dennis Sutton to add to those numbers and help make Illinois QB Luke Altmyer a bit uncomfortable back there as it could lead to his first turnover or two of the season. Overall I think this is a solid Illinois team, but no match for this year's Penn State team, which has lofty goals this season.
On the flip side, I think Andy Kotelnicki's opens up the playbook a bit more
DUB JELLISON — Penn State: 38 || Illinois: 21
This will be Penn State's toughest test to date with a red-hot Illinois team coming into Beaver Stadium for what will be an electric night game atmosphere. While the Illini come into Saturday with momentum on the heels of two wins over ranked opponents, I believe the Nittany Lions show why they are College Football Playoff material.
Offensively for Penn State, Drew Allar and company have continued to thrive and grow under Andy Kotelnicki, which I expect to continue. The outside threats of Omari Evans and Harrison Wallace, along with one of the nation's top tight ends in Tyler Warren will be too much for Illinois to handle. Not to mention a run game that has been as good as advertised through three weeks, looking more like its 2022 self.
The Illinois offense has shown improvements, led by Luke Altmyer, and will be Penn State's toughest test to date in that regard as well. Despite Kevin Winston Jr. absence, expect the Nittany Lions to keep the Illini attack in check for the most part.
Ultimately, this is a game Penn State should win and have the opportunity to make a statement in doing so, which I believe will be the case.
DUB JELLISON — Penn State: 31 || Illinois: 17
The Nittany Lions do not cover the spread because it is too high for this talented of an Illinois team. Luke Altmyer is the real deal and Penn State need to be play great defense especially with the dual-threat ability of Altmyer. However Penn State should not struggle as the Drew Allar-led offense has been explosive and impressive so far. The Nittany Lions also have the advantage of a “white out-like” crowd at 7:30. Penn State should easily win and we should also be able to see more of what this offense is capable of.
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