The Illinois Fighting Illini (4-0) face off against the Penn State Nittany Lions (3-0) on Saturday, September 28th. This game will be played at Beaver Stadium in University Park and televised on NBC. Both team’s come into this one having won their previous games. Kickoff is set for 7:30 ET.

Illinois Fighting Illini vs Penn State Nittany Lions

 

Illinois Offense Breakdown

Illinois’ offense was led by quarterback Luke Altmyer in their 31-24 overtime win, as he threw for 215 yards and four touchdowns, completing 77.8% of his passes. Pat Bryant was his top target, hauling in five receptions for 74 yards.

The Fighting Illini finished with 383 total yards, with 168 yards coming on the ground. Kaden Feagin led the rushing attack with 69 yards on 12 carries.

Penn State Offense Breakdown

After racking up 718 yards of total offense in their 56-0 win, Penn State’s offense was firing on all cylinders. The Nittany Lions’ ground game was effective, rushing for 309 yards and three touchdowns. In the passing game, they put up 409 yards and five scores.

Quarterback Drew Allar was nearly flawless, completing 81% of his passes for 309 yards and three touchdowns, earning a passer rating of 158.33. Nicholas Singleton led the ground attack with 81 yards on 11 carries, and Omari Evans was the top receiver, hauling in four catches for 116 yards and a touchdown.

Illinois Team Defense

Illinois’ defense will be looking to improve after giving up 297 passing yards and three touchdowns to Nebraska in their most recent game. The Illini allowed 20 first downs and 347 total yards, but they did manage to pick off one pass. On the ground, Illinois was more effective, holding Nebraska to just 50 rushing yards on 32 attempts.

Illinois Team Defense

Penn State’s defense was dominant in their most recent game, holding Kent State to just 71 total yards. The Nittany Lions allowed only 18 passing yards on 2 completions, and Kent State’s rushing attack was limited to 53 yards on 29 attempts. Penn State’s defense was also effective in preventing first downs, allowing just six in the game.

Illinois vs Penn State Trends

• Across their last three road contests, Illinois has been good against the spread posting a mark of 3-0. Their overall mark in these games was 2-1, while averaging 23 points per game.
• When looking at their past five home matchups, Penn State has an ATS record of 4-1 while averaging 36 per game. The team went 4-1 overall in these games.
• As the betting underdog, the Illinois Fighting Illini have an ATS mark of just 6-4 in their last ten games. Illinois posted a straight up mark of 4-6 in these matchups.
• Spanning across their last ten games as the betting favorite, the Penn State Nittany Lions have gone 7-3 vs the spread. Their overall record in these games was 9-1.

Fighting Illini vs Nittany Lions Prediction

Our projection for this week five matchup between Penn State and Illinois is a final score of 37-18 in favor of Penn State. With the Nittany Lions currently -17.5 point favorites, we expect them to cover the spread.

For the over/under, with the line set at 47.5 points, our projection of 55 combined points suggests that taking the over is the best play.

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All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!

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* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.