Fresh off a 56-0 win over Kent State for their final Big Ten tune-up, No. 9 Penn State (3-0) is ready to kick off conference football play in a primetime game against against No. 19 Illinois (4-0). Here’s a look at the Big Ten opener for the Nittany Lions.
Key Players for Penn State
Quarterback Drew Allar continues to take care of the football and looked very solid in what essentially amounted to a dress rehearsal for conference play. Allar has 309 passing yards and threw three touchdown passes and ran for another in Nittany Lions’ 56-0 win last week. He’s up to eight touchdown passes and just one interception on the season. He’ll take an almost 71 percent completion rate into the Big Ten opener Saturday night.
Drew Allar ➡️ Liam Clifford TD 😤 @PennStateFball pic.twitter.com/wohVNmGWQJ
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 21, 2024
Running back Nick Singleton didn’t reach 100 rushing yards last week, but still totaled over 100 scrimmage yards thanks with 81 rushing and 22 receiving against Kent State. Singleton has also scored a touchdown in all three games. He’ll look to make it four straight to start the season against Illinois.
Tight end Tyler Warren remains the top receiver on the season. His 16 catches are eight more than any other Penn State receiver and he leads with 226 receiving yards. For good measure, he also threw a touchdown pass to Singleton in the second quarter.
Ridiculous one-handed catch here by Penn State's Tyler Warren and then DB just bounces off him.
Last week's 𝙙𝙤-𝙞𝙩-𝙖𝙡𝙡 performance where Warren threw TD, had 16-yard run out of Wildcat, & then made this catch was about as fun as TE tape gets.📈#TheDraftStartsInMOBILE™️ pic.twitter.com/d1uqZ3CwRP
— Jim Nagy (@JimNagy_SB) September 26, 2024
Passing remains tough to do against the Penn State secondary, led by safety Jaylen Reed and his team-leading 22 tackles. He’s also tied for the team lead with two passes defended. Reed took charge Saturday with fellow safety Kevin Winston Jr., who is out indefinitely with an undisclosed injury.
Key Players for Illinois
Quarterback Luke Altmyer is off to a strong start in his second season with the Illini after three seasons with Ole Miss. Altmyer has a 10-to-0 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He’s fresh off throwing four touchdown passes in a overtime win last Friday over then-No. 22 Nebraska. He’s completed 71.4 percent of his passes in leading Illinois to a 4-0 start.
Luke Altmyer vs. No. 22 Nebraska:
🔥 21/27 C/ATT
🔥 215 YDs
🔥 4 TDshttps://t.co/d9rHMML4O8 pic.twitter.com/01bWohgFTb— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal_) September 21, 2024
Sophomore running back Kaden Feagin leads the charge in the backfield. He has 242 yards and three touchdowns on 54 attempts through four games. He ran for 108 in the season opener against Eastern Illinois.
Illinois also has three other running backs with at least 100 yards rushing through four games. Aidan Laughery (18-119), Ca’Lil Valentine (20-106) and Josh McCray (22-105) have been mixed in throughout the season, and will likely continue to do so this week.
There are two clear favorites for Altmyer in the passing game. Pat Bryant (20 receptions, 309 yards) and ZakHari Franklin (21 receptions, 243 yards) are the main targets. No other receiver has more than six catches. Bryant already has six touchdown receptions this season. He’s had three games with two touchdown receptions each.
Keys to the game for Penn State
Slow down effective passing game of Illinois
As mentioned, Altmyer is playing very well for Illinois this season. Given the injury to Penn State’s Kevin Winston, the secondary has to rally around his absence. They can’t let Altmyer and the offense get into a groove, or they’ll quickly find themselves in a shootout.
Protect Drew Allar
This seems simple. Penn State has done a great job protecting Allar so far, only allowing three sacks. However, Illinois can bring pressure.
The team has 11.5 sacks for the season; linebacker Gabe Jacas, defensive lineman Dennis Briggs Jr. and linebacker Alec Bryant each have two. The protection has allowed Penn State to air the ball out on offense, and they’ll need that vertical threat in this game.
Force turnovers
Illinois is tied for third in the nation with a +1.75 turnover margin per game. Meanwhile, Penn State is tied for 44th at 0.67. Turnovers win ball games and one way to limit the time Illinois’ offense is on the field is to win the turnover battle. Especially against an effective passing game like the Illini.
