Penn State didn’t prove much this past Saturday against lowly Kent State but Illinois will be a different story.
Here are five things to know about the surprising Illini.
PENN STATE: ILLINOIS IS FLYING HIGH
Illinois is hot right now. The team turned some heads when it upset then-No. 19 Kansas Week 2 and turned even more heads two weeks later when it upset No. 22 Nebraska on the road in overtime. When Penn State fans saw Illinois on the 2024 schedule, most of them probably didn’t picture Illinois being No. 19 by the last weekend of September. Well, it’s happened, and the quarterback is a big reason.
PENN STATE: ILLINOIS HAD A STRONG FIELD GENERAL
Luke Altmeyer wasn’t at his best against Penn State last season. He threw four interceptions, no touchdowns and was eventually replaced by John Paddock in the 30-13 loss. He ended up being benched again late in the season and ended the year with barely more touchdowns (13) than interceptions (10). It’s still early, but Altmeyer has been much improved so far from 3023. He has 10 touchdowns passes through four games and hasn’t yet thrown a pick. His completion percentage (71.4) is also up from last year (64.8). Altmeyer is also coming off his best game of the season, going 21-for-27 with 215 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions against Nebraska. Altmeyer will have his biggest test Saturday, and he could be helped by a big-play receiver.
AN EXPlOSIVE PLAY THREAT
By Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki’s definition, an explosive play is any pass that goes for 15 yards or more or any run that goes for 12 or more. Pat Bryant averages 15.4 yards per reception, so, yeah, that’s explosive. Bryant played a big role in Friday’s win at Nebraska, catching five passes for 74 yards and two touchdowns. The week before that, he caught seven catches for 102 yards and two touchdowns against Central Michigan. With Penn State’s secondary missing its best player in KJ Winston, containing Bryant will be even more of a challenge.
A (POSSIBLE) WEAKNESS TO EXPlOIT
Although Illinois lost to Penn State by three scores at home last season, DL Jer’Zhan Newton caused a lot of problems for QB Drew Allar and Penn State’s offense. He ended the game with six tackles, two pass breakups, two quarterback hurries, one tackle for a loss and a blocked field goal. Now, Newton is with the Washington Commanders, and Illinois has also lost Keith Randolph Jr. and Denzel Daxon. Illinois retooled the DL over the offseason, signing transfers Dennis Briggs Jr. (Florida State), Anthony Johnson (Youngstown State) and Enyce Sledge (Auburn). Illinois did a good job of containing Nebraska’s run game, holding Dante Dowdell to 3.6 yards per carry. But Kansas’ Devin Neal rushed for 101 on 14 carries (7.2 YPC). Kotelnicki used to coach Neal, and now he coaches Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen. Those two always have the potential to feast.
THE FIRST TEST
Penn State did beat West Virginia but West Virginia (2-2) may not be that good. For all we know, Illinois isn’t, either. But it’s hard to argue that the No. 19 team in the country isn’t Penn State’s biggest test to this point. For better or worse, we will learn a lot about Penn State Saturday.
