Penn State @ Illinois preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 29, 2011 ) Illinois 7, Penn State 10

Penn State looks to keep its momentum going on the road Saturday against an Illinois team that was blasted by a non-BCS school in its own building last week. The noon kickoff opens the Big Ten slate for both teams, though only the Illini are eligible for postseason play following the Nittany Lions’ NCAA sanctions. Even in what’s been a much-maligned league thus far, Illinois appears to have much work to do for any bowl aspirations – Louisiana Tech routed the Illini 52-24 last week and they also own a 31-point loss to Arizona State. Penn State, meanwhile, has rebounded from two losses – including a one-point setback at Virginia in which it missed four field goals – with victories over Navy and Temple, who might not be world beaters but at least have instilled some confidence for first-year coach Bill O’Brien’s club.

TV: 12 p.m. ET, ESPN. LINE: Illinois -1

ABOUT PENN STATE (2-2): Senior quarterback Matthew McGloin may be the most confident of the Nittany Lions after last week’s career-high 318 yards in a 24-13 victory over Temple. He also ran for a couple of touchdowns and threw for one. Penn State showed a well-balanced offense that outgained the Owls 491-237 in yardage and 27-13 in first downs, but hurt itself with 100 penalty yards. Sophomore wide receiver Allen Robinson has emerged as McGloin’s favorite target, hauling in his fifth touchdown catch last week. The defense is yielding only 15.3 points (24th in the nation) and last week had a great effort from senior linebacker Michael Mauti, who made nine tackles, forced a fumble and broke up a pass.

ABOUT ILLINOIS (2-2): First-year coach Tim Beckman diffused any quarterback controversy early in the week when he declared junior Nathan Scheelhaase the starter over sophomore Reilly O’Toole. Scheelhaase missed two games with a sprained ankle before being pulled in the first quarter of last week’s loss to Louisiana Tech after going 8-of-11 for 85 yards with a touchdown, interception and fumble. O’Toole had set an Illini efficiency record the previous week, hitting 26 of 31 (.839) passes with five touchdowns in a 44-0 romp over Charleston Southern. Last week the Bulldogs took advantage of six Illinois turnovers, had five sacks and broke the game open with a 24-0 third quarter blitz. Freshman running back Josh Ferguson was a bright spot in the throttling, catching 10 passes for 84 yards.

EXTRA POINTS

1. The Nittany Lions lead the series 15-4, though nine of those wins are vacated. They won last year 10-7 in the snow at Beaver Stadium, when Illinois’ last-second field-goal attempt hit the upright and at the time gave Joe Paterno the all-time victories mark in what proved to be his final game.

2. Illinois has controlled the time of possession in all four of its games and rank ninth nationally (34:17 average), but the Nittany Lions dominated in that area against Temple, 36:52 to 23:08.

3. Penn State redshirt sophomore Paul Jones, a quarterback-turned-tight end, left the team for personal reasons Wednesday, the 14th player to exit the program since the NCAA’s sanctions came about.

PREDICTION: Illinois 20, Penn State 17

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