Illinios vs. Penn State Prediction
Big Ten rivals meet in “Happy Valley” on Saturday afternoon when No. 7 Penn State hosts Illinois at 12:00 p.m. ET. Is 24 too much to lay with the Nittany Lions or will PSU cover that number against the struggling Illini?
Game Snapshot
335 Illinois Fighting Illini (+24) at 336 Penn State Nittany Lions (-24); o/u 45.5
12:00 p.m. ET, Saturday, October 23, 2021
Beaver Stadium, University Park, PA
TV: ABC
Illinois Fighting Illini Game Notes
There’s no official word on which quarterback will take the field for the Fighting Illini as the starter on Saturday, but QB Brandon Peters (undisclosed) has been cleared to play. Head coach Bret Bielema said earlier this week that Peters (6’5/220) “could possibly get his return” this week, but has made no official statement on who the starting quarterback for the team will be as it takes on Penn State this weekend. Peters has now been cleared play, though. “Our players know, our coaches know, everything’s been that way since Tuesday’s practice forward,” Bielema said this week. On the season, Peters is 40-for-82 passing for 410 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Backup quarterback Artur Sitkowski his 66-for-129 passing for 666 yards, six touchdowns and one interception.
Penn State Nittany Lions Game Notes
Penn State redshirt senior QB Sean Clifford (upper body) returned to practice on Wednesday. Clifford (6’2/219) was knocked out of Penn State’s loss to Iowa in the second quarter after landing hard on the field following a tackle, with sophomore quarterback Ta’Quan Roberson taking over for the remainder of the day and failing to move the ball in an effective manner. Clifford was seen taking regular practice reps and was not limited to working on the side. That the redshirt senior signal caller is out there moving around and making throws is certainly a good sign for the Nittany Lions, as their offense stalled out as soon as he left. PSU hopes to have their starting quarterback under center when they take on Illinois this Saturday.
Illinois vs. Penn State Betting Prediction
The road team has covered in 11 of the last 15 meetings between these two teams while the Fighting Illini are 6-2 against the number in the last eight meetings at University Park. The Nittany Lions are also just 5-19-2 against the spread in their last 26 games following a straight up loss while the Illini are 6-2 against the number in their last eight games after accumulating less than 275 total yards in their previous game.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEK 8 PREDICTION: ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI +24