Illinois Penn State College Football Predictions

Written September 24, 2008 by Jack Jones

The No. 12 Penn State Nittany Lions should get their first real test of the young season on Saturday when they play host to the No. 22 Fighting Illini from Illinois. This game will mark the first Big Ten matchup of the year for both schools, and the experts think it should go the Nittany Lions’ way as Penn State is a 14.5 point favorite over Illinois with a total listed at 57.5 at Sportsbook.com.

Penn State just rolled through their non-conference schedule, going 4-0 with a margin of victory of 42.8 ppg, which leads the nation. The offense is ranked sixth with 538.5 yards per contest and the defense comes in at no. 7 with only 222.3 yards per game given up. This team has also scored more points through four games than any other in the illustrious history of the Nittany Lion football program.

If Penn State wants to continue racking up wins, they are going to have to take better care of the football than they did against Temple. The Nittany Lions fumbled five times, even though they only lost one and Daryll Clark threw his first interception of the season. Even with those problems, the team rolled to a 45-3 win over Temple by piling up 546 yards of total offense. Now the team will try to keep putting up big numbers in Big Ten play.

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The only problems it seems the Nittany Lions have had to face are a couple of off-the-field issues. Starting defensive linemen Maurice Evans and Abe Koroma have missed the past three games after being charged with possession of marijuana. While they were allowed to return to practice this week, head coach Joe Paterno hasn’t said anything about whether the two would suit up and take the field on Saturday. Evans might be needed to keep Illinois quarterback Juice Williams contained. Evans had 12.5 sacks last year.

The junior Williams leads the Illinois offense, and he has done a good job of moving the ball so far. The dual-threat quarterback has thrown for 450 yards and five touchdowns in one game and ran for 174 in another. However, outside of the Illinois game he has only thrown two scores, and was just 13-for-25 with an interception two weeks ago against Louisiana-Lafayette. He has struggled in his two games against Paterno’s boys, going 13-for-33 and two picks as a freshman, and then 11-for-24 with two interceptions last year. If you think Illinois will stay within the 14.5 point spread, bet them using your credit or debit card at Sportsbook.com!

The good news is that Illinois overcame Juice’s troubles last year and still won the game 27-20, largely due to the defense forcing four turnovers. Wideout Arrelious Benn was big against the Nittany Lions as well, grabbing six balls for 84 yards and a touchdown. He’s off to a good start again this year with 15 receptions for 150 yards while also rushing into the end zone twice.

While Williams is one of the premiere dual threat quarterbacks in the nation, Penn State has one of their own in Daryll Clark. Clark now has seven touchdowns throwing and two more on the ground, plus he has a talented pair of tailbacks in Evan Royster and Stephfon Green to hand the ball off to. Royster is second in the Big Ten and Green third with 8.1 and 7.3 yards per carry respectively.

It’s going to be tough for Illinois to knock of Penn State at Beaver Stadium, where the Lions have won all five meetings between the two schools. Penn State has also won 23 of their last 25 games overall in front of the home faithful. You can bet Penn State -14.5 at Sportsbook.com and get a 100% bonus on your first winning wager!

Football Score Predictions: Penn State 35, Illinois 21

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