Penn State/Illinois prediction.

#15 Penn State at Illinois

Does this sound familiar? Think back to two years ago. The Penn State Nittany Lions were coming off a three game winning streak to start the year against three mediocre teams, and were getting a lot of buzz in the national landscape. On the other side, a Michigan Wolverines squad was finally in the win column after opening off the season with a shocking loss against FCS champion Appalachian State. Everyone picked Penn State to win the game against Michigan. And then to prove everyone wrong, Michigan came out ready to play and beat the Nittany Lions, 14-9.

The next week, Penn State traveled to Champaign to face the Illinois Fighting Illini. Feeling somewhat of a hangover after the loss to Michigan, they came out and struggled against the Illini squad and ended up dropping their second Big Ten game in a row. That first conference loss set the mood for the rest of the year, and ended up taking a possible Rose Bowl season to a disappointing Alamo Bowl berth.

So let's compare here. Penn State blows out three mediocre teams to start the season. They start receiving national championship game buzz before their Big Ten opener against Iowa. Iowa didn't quite pull a Michigan, as they barely beat the FCS squad they opened up with; Northern Iowa. Unlike that Wolverines squad, they continued to win and came into the matchup against the Nittany Lions, 3-0.

Everyone picked Penn State to win. Do I have to tell you what happened? Penn State fell flat on their faces and lost to the Hawkeyes. Once was one of the nation's sweethearts before the game, turned into one of the goats after the loss. And guess where they play at today? Champaign.
However, unlike the Illinois squad of 2007, this one is awful. They once were considered a contender in the Big Ten, but have played down to the amount of talent they possess. If Penn State loses here, I believe it will be 2007 all over again where they had the talent to win the conference but ended up playing in a bowl like the Alamo.

I feel Penn State will come out slow, but eventually get it turned around. This team is still far too talented to lose two conference games in a row, especially to one of the worst teams in the Big Ten. Although they didn't show it against Iowa - who has Penn State's number - they still have one of the best teams in the Big Ten and in fact might be 1b with Ohio State. That Nittany Lions/Buckeyes matchup later in the year will decide the Big Ten title.

Daryl Clark will get much better protection from his line (unlike last week) and have a great game against that Illini secondary. This will get them back on track and they'll win out going into their showdown against the surprising Michigan Wolverines in a few week.

Penn State 27, Illinois 10