Blue White Illustrated

KEY MATCHUPS P E N N S T A T E V S . I L L I N O I S | B Y P H I L G R O S Z W H E N P E N N S T A T E H A S T H E B A L L PENN STATE RUNNING GAME 148.0 YPG, 4.3 YPC // ILLINOIS RUN DEFENSE149.4 YPG, 3.9 YPC THE LOWDOWNBy placing eight men in the box, Maryland did a very effective job against Penn State's running game last week. The Terrapins' strategy opened up some other opportunities that the Nittany Lions were able to exploit, but they did hold RB Saquon Barkley to just 65 yards on 20 carries. With lost yardage factored in, the Lions rushed for only 48 yards on 31 carries (1.6 ypc). Even though he didn't find much running room last week, Barkley remains Penn State's leading rusher with 632 yards on 88 carries, averaging a team-high 7.2 yards per attempt. Akeel Lynch is its No. 2 rusher with 274 yards on 53 carries (5.2 ypc). Brandon Polk has continued to be a factor in the running game, carrying 10 times for 130 yards on jet sweeps. The Illini rank eighth in the Big Ten against the run. Their lead- ing tackler is senior FS Clayton Fejedelem with 74 stops. Illinois also has two talented linebackers in junior T.J. Neal and senior Mason Monheim. Neal is second in tackles with 62, including six tackles for loss. Monheim is the Illini's third-leading tackler with 53 stops. Junior DE Dawuane Smoot leads Illinois with 11 tackles for loss, while senior DE Jihad Ward has two TFL. // KEY MATCHUPPenn State LT Paris Palmer will face Smoot, while guards Angelo Mangiro and Brian Gaia will have to contend with Neal and Monheim. It wouldn't be surprising to see the Illini use the same approach that Maryland used last week, selling out to stop the run and taking their chances against the pass. // EDGEEven PENN STATE PASSING GAME 194.6 YPG, 14.3 YPC // ILLINOIS PASS DEFENSE 195.4 YPG, 10.6 YPC THE LOWDOWNPenn State rediscovered its vertical passing game against Maryland. Christian Hackenberg only completed 13 of his 29 attempts, but he totaled 315 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Hackenberg has now completed 107 of 206 passes (51.9 percent) for 1,521 yards, with 11 TD passes and just two picks. His pass- efficiency rating is a healthy 129.6. Chris Godwin is the Nittany Lions' leading receiver with 34 catches for 628 yards and a team-leading average of 18.5 yards per catch. DaeSean Hamilton is second in receptions with 24 for 316 yards (13.2 ypc) and a team-best four TD catches. Tight ends Kyle Carter and Mike Gesicki have combined for 19 receptions for 201 yards. Saeed Blacknall has only five catches but has totaled 139 yards, and his average of 27.8 yards per catch leads the team. The Nittany Lions will have to be wary against Illinois, which ranks second in the Big Ten with nine interceptions, including three apiece by senior SS Taylor Barton and senior CB Eaton Spence. But despite their opportunistic play in the secondary, Illinois only ranks seventh in the Big Ten in pass defense. One of the reasons for that ranking is that the Illini haven't been able to put consistent pressure on opposing quarter- backs. They have only nine sacks through seven games, and Smoot is responsible for five of them. // KEY MATCHUP Palmer will need to keep Smoot from creating havoc on passing downs. In the secondary, Spence will likely find himself matched up with Godwin. // EDGEPenn State PENN STATE PASSING GAME VS. ILLINOIS PASS DEFENSE ILLINOIS RUNNING GAME 125.7 YPG, 3.8 YPC // PENN STATE RUN DEFENSE157.3 YPG, 3.8 YPC THE LOWDOWNPenn State faced option-oriented offenses in three of its past four games and struggled against all of them. Having given up big yardage to Army, Ohio State and Maryland, the Lions now rank 11th in the Big Ten in rushing defense. But despite what the numbers might suggest, they should have a big advantage against an Illinois rushing attack that ranks 14th in the Big Ten. Senior RB Josh Ferguson has rushed for 381 yards on 71 carries but he has missed the past two games with a shoulder injury. In his place, freshman Ke'Shawn Vaughn has carried the load, totaling 447 yards on 108 carries for an average of 4.1 yards per carry. Penn State's rush defense is led by MLB Jason Cabinda with 59 total tackles and three tackles for loss. Up front, junior DT Austin Johnson is having an All-Big Ten season, ranking second on the team with 49 tackles to go with nine tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. Senior DE Carl Nassib leads the country with 17.5 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks, and he's also forced five fumbles. As a team, Penn State has totaled 74 tackles for loss. // KEY MATCHUP Nassib will face sophomore RT Christian Di- Lauro, while Johnson and fellow DT Anthony Zettel will square off against Illinois guards Ted Karras and Nick Allegretti. Karras is a senior, while Allegretti is a redshirt freshman. // EDGEPenn State ILLINOIS RUNNING GAME VS. PENN STATE RUN DEFENSE ILLINOIS PASSING GAME VS. PENN STATE PASS DEFENSE W H E N I L L I N O I S H A S T H E B A L L PENN STATE RUNNING GAME VS. ILLINOIS RUN DEFENSE O C T O B E R 2 8 , 2 0 1 5 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 4 ILLINOIS PASSING GAME 259.6 YPG, 10.7 YPC // PENN STATE PASS DEFENSE161.4 YPG, 10.3 YPC THE LOWDOWNThis will be strength vs. strength. Illinois ranks third in the Big Ten in passing, while Penn State is third in pass defense. Senior QB Wes Lunt is having an excellent season, having completed 158 of 276 passes for 1,702 yards with nine TD passes and only three interceptions. Freshman Chayce Crouch backs up Lunt and has

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