The #9 Penn State Nittany Lions are preparing to face the #19 Illinois Fighting Illini in a Saturday night matchup in Happy Valley. The kickoff for that game will be at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
Both teams are undefeated entering this matchup, but Drew Allar and the Nittany Lions will be tested in their first BIG10 Conference game of the season. As for the Fighting Illini, they defeated the Nebraska Cornhuskers 31-24 in overtime last Friday night.
Penn State Nittany Lions Need To Keep Drew Allar Upright Against the Illinois Fighting Illini
One of the strengths of Illinois is the defensive line. They will bring some problems to the Penn State Nittany Lions offensive line. Illinois has 10 sacks in four games played this season. Penn State will need to keep quarterback Drew Allar upright to make him comfortable.
Allar completed 81.0% of his passes for 309 yards and three touchdowns in a 56-0 win against the Kent State Flashes last weekend. Drew Allar also did not throw an interception in the game. This was only the second career game he threw for over 300 yards.
James Franklin, the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions said to Sam Woloson of Sports Illustrated about keeping the quarterbacks protected against Illinois:
“The quarterback can’t work through his progression if we’re not playing well up front. And our O-line and running backs in protection and Drew’s ability to adjust the protection and Nick Dawkins’ ability to adjust the protection based on what they’re doing defensively, that plays a part in ball distribution as well. That plays a part in the quarterback being able to attack the entire field.”
On the season, Allar has completed 70.7% of his passes for 729 yards, eight touchdowns, and one interception. It will be interesting to see how he does this weekend against the Illinois Fighting Illini.
Must Win Game For Penn State
This is a must-win game for the Nittany Lions. If they were to lose this game, there is no doubt there would be questions about Penn State making the playoffs this season in an expanded field.
The Nittany Lions and Allar need to show that they could be the biggest threat to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the BIG10 Conference. They will need to win the game against the Illinois Fighting Illini at the line of scrimmage and give Allar time to operate.
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