Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/84628
PREGAME REPORT P E N N S T A T E @ I L L I N O I S N O O N , S E P T . 2 9 E S P N ILLINOIS FACTS COACH Tim Beckman (Findlay, '88) COACH'S RECORD 23-18 in four seasons. This is his first season at Illinois. TEAM'S RECORD 2-2 (0-0 Big Ten) RECORD VS. PENN STATE The Nittany Lions lead the series, 15-4, and hold a 7- 3 edge in Champaign. PREVIOUS MEETINGWith snow falling most of the afternoon on Oct. 29, 2011, Illinois kicker Derek Dimke's tying field goal attempt in the final second bounced off the right upright to give Penn State a 10-7 victory. It was the final game of Joe Paterno's career. THE GOOD PACE CAR The Fighting Illini know how to control the ball. They rank ninth nationally and second in the conference in time of possesion, averaging more than 34 min- utes per game. THE BAD SPINNING WHEELS Last week Illinois pos- sessed the ball nearly 12 minutes more than Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs, how- ever, amassed 79 more yards and 28 more points than the Illini. THE UGLY DEFENSELESS In its two losses this sea- son, Illinois has allowed an average of 48.5 points. In four games, it has allowed a conference-worst 14 touchdowns – four more than the second-worst team. DID YOU KNOW? Illinois defensive coordinator Tim Banks and Bill O'Brien were assistants together at Maryland in 2003 and '04. "He's an ex- cellent coach and a smart guy," O'Brien said of Banks, "and he's going to attack our protections and test our ability to pick their blitzes up." Penn State opens Big Ten play against emerging rival Illinois THE CHASE BEGINS TIM OWEN | OWE N . T I M . B WI@G M A I L . C O M By now the story has been told. You know the one about the Illinois coaches who were dispatched to Penn State after the program was sanctioned July 23. The Nittany Lions were, after all, free to transfer wherever they wished, and as Illi- nois coach Tim Beckman conceded earlier this week, it was "what the NCAA allowed us to do." So Beckman's assistants set up shop outside Penn State's campus – in apart- ment building parking lots and other local S E P T E M B E R 2 6 , 2 0 1 2 1 establishments – in hope of convincing a few Penn State players to listen to their pitch. Their tactics were ineffective in all but one case. When the Nittany Lions visit Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Ill., Sat- urday, one of their former teammates will be on the Fighting Illini sideline: Ryan Nowicki, a reserve redshirt freshman offensive lineman. Beckman was asked at his weekly news conference about his staff's recruiting tactics and defended them by saying, "We were contacted previ- B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M John Beale CATCH HIM IF YOU CAN A dual-threat QB, Scheelhaase rushed for 89 yards against Penn State in 2011.