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Get ready for a Big Ten battle as the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Illinois Fighting Illini will face off at 5:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at Beaver Stadium. Penn State will be strutting in after a win while Illinois will be stumbling in from a defeat.
The Nittany Lions didn't have too much trouble with the Michigan State Spartans at home last week as they won 39-24. It was another big night for Penn State's QB Sean Clifford, who passed for two TDs and 232 yards on 27 attempts in addition to rushing for one TD and 48 yards.
Penn State's defense was a presence as well, as it got past MSU's offensive line to sack QB Payton Thorne four times total. The heavy lifting was done by DT Antonio Shelton and DE Shane Simmons, who each racked up 1.5 sacks.
Meanwhile, the Fighting Illini ended up a good deal behind the Northwestern Wildcats when they played last week, losing 28-10. Illinois was down 28-3 at the end of the third quarter, which was just too much to recover from. No one had a standout game offensively for Illinois, but they got scores from QB Isaiah Williams and WR Brian Hightower.
Everything came up roses for Penn State on the road against Illinois when the teams previously met two seasons ago as the squad secured a 63-24 victory. Will Penn State repeat their success, or does Illinois have a better game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
