Penn State plays host to Illinois at Beaver Stadium and enters the contest as a 5 1/2-point favorite. The Nittany Lions are unbeaten at home (5-0) this season and face a pesky Illini squad that is winless on the road (0-2) but has managed to stay competitive in Big Ten play with a win over Nebraska (14-13) and losses to unbeaten Iowa (29-20) and Wisconsin (24-13).
The Illini pose challenges with a spread offense that leans on quarterback Wes Lunt to distribute the ball, often in four-wide receiver sets. That style could put Penn State defensive backs such as Malik Golden, Troy Apke and John Reid in position to make plays in pass coverage. The Nittany Lions counter with an offense that exploited Maryland through the air in a 31-30 win last week.
Bob Flounders, Greg Pickel and Dustin Hockensmith look at the PSU-Illinois matchup and gave their predictions for the game to wrap up this week’s Keystone Kickoff Show. Check out audio of the show in this post and be sure to check back in to KeystoneSportsNetwork.com for plenty more Penn State podcasts and analysis.