Week 5: Penn State at Illinois

It’s difficult to say whether Illinois has much of an advantage playing this one at home. Their only loss of the year came at home against Missouri, and their only conference win last year came on the road.

Obviously, no coach looks at numbers such as those, certainly not Ron Zook.

“I don't remember ever being so excited about being able to play a game at home,” said Zook, whose team is coming off road wins against Syracuse and Indiana. “It's only been a two game road trip, but it felt like forever.”

And, considering how poorly Joe Pa’s Penn State squad played away from Happy Valley last week, we’re certain the Illini would have it no other way.

Penn State managed just nine points against the Wolverines, mostly because the offense failed to take care of the little things. Austin Scott put the football on the ground for a second straight week, and was again out-performed by Rodney Kinlaw. Anthony Morelli struggled; he also lost a key fumble, and completed less than 50 percent of his throws and failed to hit on that one big play.

To have success against Illinois that must all change, of course, but there’s more to it than that. Penn State’s receivers, once considered a deep unit, have disappointed this season. They must create plays against an Illinois secondary that was toasted by Missouri and challenged by Indiana. And the Nittany Lions rushing attack must help Paterno eat clock.

Defensively, Penn State has been very solid. This fall only Buffalo has scored more than 14 points, most of it coming in ‘garbage’ time. But the Lions have not seen a player as versatile as Illini quarterback Juice Williams, nor were they successful last year at stopping running back Rashard Mendenhall, who gained 161 rushing yards. Mendenhall, fresh off a 214-yard performance, will look to duplicate what Michigan’s Mike Hart did to the Lions a week ago (153).

“It's a very, very explosive offense, and I think we'll have to make some adjustments,” said Paterno of the Illini.

One Illinois player to keep an eye on in this one is freshman wide receiver Arrelious Benn. Held without a score so far, Benn has collected 50 or more yards in three of his first four college contests. He could give Penn State trouble, same as Buffalo’s Naaman Roosevelt and Earnest Jackson did two weeks ago.

A little history of note: in 2005, Penn State lost a tight game to the Wolverines, 27-25, on the road, then followed it up with a trip to Champaign, where they won soundly, 63-10.

Penn State by 4