Barring a historically bad upset at the hands of Kent State Saturday, Penn State football’s Sept. 28 clash with Illinois will be a top 25 matchup.
In an entertaining Friday night matchup, No. 24 Illinois stayed undefeated by beating No. 22 Nebraska on the road in overtime, 31-24.
QB Luke Altmyer was on his game for Illinois (4-0), completing 21 of 27 passes for 215 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.
Kaden Fagen got it done on the ground for Illinois, rushing for 69 yards on 12 carries (5.8 YPC). Altmyer’s top receiver, Pat Bryant, caught five passes for 74 yards, including what proved to be the winning touchdown in overtime.
In hindsight, Penn State-Illinois should have been this year’s White Out game. Had Penn State expected Illinois to be a ranked matchup, perhaps it would have gone that route, with it being a nighttime kick (either 7 or 7:30). But Penn State chose Washington instead, which could also be a night game (either 3:30 or 7:30 likely). Even if it is a night game, there’s no guarantee that Washington, despite being the defending national runner-up, will be in the top 25. Washington (2-1) is coming off a loss to Washington State at home last week.
Instead, Washington is the White Out and Illinois will still be a big occasion as the Homecoming game.
Illinois will be hoping for a better showing than it had against Penn State last season at home. Even with a performance that left many in the fan base dissatisfied, PSU still came away with a 30-13 win. The last time Illinois came to Beaver Stadium was much less pleasant for Penn State.
When PSU fans hear the words “nine overtimes,” they think of one game and one game only: Illinois 2021.
Penn State came into that contest ranked No. 7 and favored by four touchdowns but ended up losing in nine OTs.
Before Penn State can worry about Illinois, it must take care of Kent State, who it plays this week at 3:30 on the Big Ten Network at Beaver Stadium.
