Pregame: Illinois at Penn State, Saturday, September 28th, 6:30pm CT, NBC

Reading some of the coverage on this game as well as the PSU fan comments you’d think Illinois was 0-4. My goodness. Maybe they (Vegas included) know something we don’t. I just don’t see it being a guaranteed blowout.

The def has to keep an eye on Tyler Warren. The D line has to play their best and no long runs up the middle. It will bea long Saturday until game time.

BWBW said:

And we recover the fumble.

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For a touchdown.

Let it go.

Choerr said:

Anyone planning on making the trip to PSU and tailgating at beaver stadium? Going to be driving up on Saturday and looking to meet up with some fellow illini

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I am making the trip as well. One of my high school buddies went to PSU, so we are meeting up to enjoy the game. DM your lot and I may try to swing by

The line continues to be bizarre to me. Sure, Texas beat Michigan by 18 earlier in the year, but even that felt like more of a beatdown than we'll see in this game.

I'd much more expect PSU to be about 10 points better than Illinois on a neutral field, so give them 3 more points for being at home and that's still 13, 5-6 points shy of the actual line. Plus, Bielema has never lost on the road to a ranked team by more than 10. Maybe I'm setting myself up for disappointment, but of the potential outcomes, I'd put "PSU wins by 3 touchdowns" far down the list of likeliness. Here's how my head thinks:

30%: PSU wins by 11-17 points
30%: PSU wins by 1-10 points
20%: ILL wins by 1-10 points
15%: ILL wins by 11-17 points
3%: PSU wins by 18+
2%: ILL wins by 18+

Looks like rain throughout the game on Saturday....taking care of the ball will be crucial (as it is with most games).....but especially if weather is a little nasty

GatorMcKlusky said:

Why is no one holding Franklin accountable for this?-->

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Great call. I thought about this clip when Bret made his comment. Made me ponder if it was a bit of a "tit for tat" comment.

illini0440 said:

You can't

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You can if your company's Nike rep likes you.

Would love to see 9-6 win like vs Iowa in 2022. Pouring rain means nobody can score but we have best place kicker. Pound Kaden for 125 yards. No turnovers.

TheChief4Life said:

I' trying to wrap my head around how people think a 19 point victory is likely... then I saw a video where someone was predicting scores for this weekend and had 38-17 Penn State and realized that I could actually see that happening...

I don't think it will, but it's not out of realm of possibility.

Head pick: PSU 30-Ill 21
Heart Pick: ILL 28-PSU24

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I was scanning the weekend games and noticed that unranked VA Tech @ #7 Miami had a lower spread (-17.5) in favor of Miami than PSU's v. us (now -19.5.)

I've seen VT play twice this season and they seem easily inferior to the Illini. Perhaps they match up much better v. Miami than we do v. PSU? Gotta say it baffles me.

Piotyr said:

The line continues to be bizarre to me. Sure, Texas beat Michigan by 18 earlier in the year, but even that felt like more of a beatdown than we'll see in this game.

I'd much more expect PSU to be about 10 points better than Illinois on a neutral field, so give them 3 more points for being at home and that's still 13, 5-6 points shy of the actual line. Plus, Bielema has never lost on the road to a ranked team by more than 10. Maybe I'm setting myself up for disappointment, but of the potential outcomes, I'd put "PSU wins by 3 touchdowns" far down the list of likeliness. Here's how my head thinks:

30%: PSU wins by 11-17 points
30%: PSU wins by 1-10 points
20%: ILL wins by 1-10 points
15%: ILL wins by 11-17 points
3%: PSU wins by 18+
2%: ILL wins by 18+

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Sounds like you should take the Illini spread and sell 7-9 points. You would be getting about 2 to 1 on that investment.

Choerr said:

Anyone planning on making the trip to PSU and tailgating at beaver stadium? Going to be driving up on Saturday and looking to meet up with some fellow illini

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I’m heading up on Saturday, just me and my lady so gonna bar hop and harass some lions before the game, I’ll be sitting around the 50 behind the good guys with my Butkus jersey and what is looking like a poncho too!

Well well . my Illini Loyalty brothers and sisters , it's been a dizzying day for good ole pru today.......woke up and did a wake and bake to start the day off and then proceeded to start watching pundit podcasts of week 5 game analysts and predictions.....

Whoa , I thought the wake and bake got me dizzy , but after 12-15 podcasts I was really really dizzy......the general consensus I saw today was the 17.5-18.0 cover was lame and disrespectful to the Illini......I concur completely with that...............But the overwhelming thing that has me pizzed off is no one , I repeat , no one is picking the beloved to win the game.....There were a few who stated they would NOT be surprised if the Illini won but they wouldn't go out on the limb and predict an Illini upset........

Oh those of little faith.......I pity you for not having the testicles to go all in on the Illini.......would you lose your high echelon standing by doing so ???................sometimes it means to go against the norm and improve your echelon status by picking an underdog......
just remember the 2021 nine overtime victory by the Illini in Crappy Valley ( kudos to whoever thought that nickname up )..........
I don't recall the spread of that game and am too medded up to google it.........But , for me , the Illini ALWAYS have a chance in any game they play...........( heart speaking volumes there ) ................................

After careful consideration and voluminous due diligence I have concluded the following prediction...................

Illini 31
psu 28

I think Luke will continue his hot start and throw at least 3 TD's............................I also think Valentine will come in late and run for a 30 + yard TD after a heavy barrage of Feagin , McCray and Laughery runs and he will jitterbug his way for the game winning TD......Valentine is going to be a special star for the Illini in his next few years here........

The Illini defense will be the best D that psu will have faced this year and I am NOT sold on Allar (sp) , the psu QB1 being good enough to overcome our fierce defense.......I look for at least 2 INT's by the Illini and maybe another pick 6 by the X-man.........

Our Special teams have an advantage over psu on FG ability alone and our punter is having an excellent year punting , especially pinning down opponents inside the 20 yard line..................

As stated before , the forecast is 75 % rain and I think that values our passing game even more with our receivers ability to get open........I would settle for more 1 handed catches like Mccray and Franklin have done this year................

All in all , I know where NL # 3 and I will be spending our Saturday night festivities ................Cheering on a loud Illini roadkill victory over the toothless nittany lions..................



BEWARE THE HARE.......................AND BEWARE THE FIGHTING ILLINI......................



Join us in the boisterous Illini fanatical viewing of another Illini victory as we improve to a 5-0 season record and 2-0 in the B$G..

We really really will...........................................

Not really sure why people are getting so worked up by the point spread. Vegas just trying to get more people to bet on Illini to get closer to 50/50 distribution. Couple weeks ago Missouri was favored by something like 16.5 and won by only 6.

Unless Illini get hit by turnover bug like last year, I wouldn’t expect PSU to win by more than 14. If Illini and Penn State both eliminate mistakes, I’d put PSU closer to 9-point winners. I don’t bet and games are rarely mistake free, so I’ve got Illinois being triumphant 29-24.

It won't be easy, but we can come awy with a win if we get some breaks. Good teams create their own luck. We have a good team with good athletes and good coaches this year. I believe in this team more than any team since the Juice Williams era.

Illini 31
PSU 30

Are we a great team? That's to be decided, but we are at the least pretty good. The real difference is we know how to win, and win close games against teams who are as good or better (on paper).

Illini with a game-winning field goal as time expires.

GForce said:

Are we a great team? That's to be decided, but we are at the least pretty good. The real difference is we know how to win, and win close games against teams who are as good or better (on paper).

Illini with a game-winning field goal as time expires.

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No. We are by no means great…good? Yes. Great? Nope

We usually like to conserve letting Luke run until late in games, kind of like saving time outs. I'm hoping we unleash him a little early for that extra dimension. Give the D a little more to think about. Stay healthy of course, and unload the ball or slide, but we may need it more than in the first 4 games.

Most journalist will play it safe. The conventional wisdom is that Penn State will win, but Illinois will put up a fight. But maybe Illinois will win.

So how can you go wrong with that, especially if everyone else is saying the same thing? It’s like forecasting up to 6 inches or more of snow.

I would think everyone is picking pen St excelling fans. This game will be a good test for the rest of the season. Especially going to Oregon. Go Illini.

The weather is looking to play a bigger part than we may have earlier anticipated, that may turn out in our favor as it limits the big play abilities and forces it into a grittier dog fight.

I’m gonna be there, soaked or not let’s dare to dream!

University of Illinois 21
Pennsylvania State University 17

Depending on the bar hopping and Nittany Harassing beforehand, I’ll do my best to support the boys the best I can!

I-L-L