For the second consecutive season, Illinois is heading to University Park to take on No. 7 Penn State on Saturday. The Illini are going into Happy Valley for the Nittany Lions' Homecoming game.
Head coach Bret Bielema first saw the Illini in their game against the Nittany Lions in 2020, the day Bielema was first announced as the new head coach.
Saturday's game will be broadcasted on ABC at 11 a.m. CT. Illinois will then be back at home next Saturday for Dad's Weekend against Rutgers.
Back From Bye Week
The Illini and the Nittany Lions are both coming off midseason bye weeks. Penn State most recently lost for the first time this season to Iowa on Oct. 9. On the same day, Illinois fell in its Homecoming game to Wisconsin.
Bielema said the bye week came at the perfect time for the Illini who were battling several injuries. It also gave the team time to clean up some schematic issues and change up personnel. Bielema expects to play more true freshman this weekend like offensive linemen Zach Barlev and linebackers Kenenna Odeluga and Dylan Rosiek.
"Anybody that goes into a bye week, you're always going to take a deep breath and look at what you do well and what you don't do well, try to accentuate that and stay away from what you don't do well," Bielema said. "I think commonality and wrinkles are everywhere in college football. For me, I've always tried to maximize our roster, so we've incorporated different players. We're going to get a couple freshman involved."
Run Game to be Crucial
Illinois' rushing attack has been its most consistent part of the offense this season. The Illini are averaging 164.1 rushing yards per game, falling in the middle of the pack throughout the conference.
Chase Brown and Josh McCray have led the Illini offense, each having career nights on separate occasions. Against Purdue nearly a month ago, McCray ran for 156 yards, the fifth-most rushing yards by an Illinois true freshman. Brown had the best outing of his career against Charlotte, rushing for 257 yards and two rushing touchdowns.
Illinois' run game was slowed down against Wisconsin, but the Badgers have the top rush defense in the conference and one of the best in all of college football.
Nittany Lions Boast Top Defense
After facing a tough defense in the Badgers, the Illini won't get much of a break as the Nittany Lions have the top scoring defense in the Big Ten. They've allowed just 13.8 points per game with the Hawkeyes being the only team to score over 20 points on them.
Penn State shutout Indiana and held Wisconsin to just 10 points earlier in the season. The Nittany Lions' defense have allowed just eight total touchdowns this season, four on the ground and four through the air.
Nationally, the Nittany Lions rank second in red zone defense and third in scoring defense.
