Penn State (6-4, 2-4 Big Ten) will take on Illinois (4-6, 1-5 Big Ten) in its final true road test of the season with a noon kickoff at Memorial Stadium.
Penn State’s offensive line has been unable to effectively protect quarterback Christian Hackenberg in recent weeks, leading to a record number of sacks; however, in the match against Temple, the offensive line received a lift from the return of Miles Dieffenbach and Donovan Smith. The two veteran players added experience and size to the line, allowing the running backs Bill Belton and Akeel Lynch to find more open lanes and giving Hackenberg some much needed time to see the field and set up the play.
Belton and Lynch combined for 222 yards against Temple; Lynch racked up a career-high 132 yards. The running back pair each tallied a touchdown in the effort. The Nittany Lions will look to the duo to spark the offense in light of Hackenberg’s recent struggles.
Defensively, Penn State is dominating its opponents. The team is ranked third in the nation in total defense, ranked first against the run, and ranked fourth in scoring defense. The Nittany Lions have also managed to hold opponents to an average of 15.4 points fewer than their average this season.
Senior linebacker Mike Hull is the cornerstone of this stellar defense and leads the Big Ten in tackles. However, the Nittany Lions are not solely interested in their tackle game, and have set out to force two turnovers per game. The team has done that in the last four straight games and has scored 41 points off of turnovers this year.
Penn State will look to force errors out of Illinois quarterback Wes Lunt, who has returned for the Illini after missing three games with an injury. Before getting hurt, Lunt was one of the leading quarterbacks in the Big Ten, completing 65 percent of his passes and throwing 14 touchdowns. Illinois freshman receiver Miles Dudek has received 51 passes for 787 yards this season.
Junior linebacker Mason Monheim orchestrates the Illini defense; a Butkus Award Watch List member, he is ranked second in the Big Ten with 9.8 tackles per game, falling only to Penn State’s Mike Hull.
With the win against Temple last week, Penn State became bowl eligible and is looking to extend its win streak to three games. Illinois is seeking bowl eligibility and must win its next two games to do so. The Lions can expect a desperate effort out of the Illini as they fight to make it to the postseason.
Kickoff is set for noon and the game will be broadcasted on ESPN2.
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