First real test for PSU's high-powered offense comes comes from Illinois

 

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• No. 12 Penn State Rolls Over No. 22 Illinois, 38-24

Top 25 Overview

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - 8:00 PM ET After cruising through nonconference play, Penn State opens Big Ten play against Illinois. The Nittany Lions have scored more points in four contests than any team in the 122-year history of the program. The Illini are coming off a bye week after edging Louisiana-Lafayette. Penn State has won all five meetings with Illinois at Beaver Stadium. The Lions have won 23 of their last 25 games at home.

Complete Top 25 Overview

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Illinois faces an uphill task on Saturday against a Penn State team that has rolled through the early part of its schedule.

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Matchup
	W-L	PF	PA	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF
ILL	2-2	133	128	2-0	0-2	0-1	0-1
PSU	5-0	249	64	4-0	1-0	1-0	1-0
· Complete Standings

Record When Scoring... (Since 2001)
	20 OR MORE	30 OR MORE	40 OR MORE	50 OR MORE
ILL	33-21-0	24-7-0	12-1-0	2-0-0
PSU	50-8-0	37-2-0	19-0-0	7-0-0
	LESS THAN 20	LESS THAN 30	LESS THAN 40	LESS THAN 50
ILL	1-31-0	10-45-0	22-51-0	32-52-0
PSU	4-27-0	17-33-0	35-35-0	47-35-0

TEAM AVERAGES & NCAA RANKS
OFFENSE	TM	PER GAME AVERAGE / NCAA RANK
Total Yards	ILL	438.8 / 19th
	PSU	410.0 / 25th
Passing Yards	ILL	282.8 / 18th
	PSU	280.0 / 25th
Rushing Yards	ILL	169.5 / 39th
	PSU	137.0 / 25th
Points Scored	ILL	28.7 / 46th
	PSU	24.0 / 11th
Full Team Stats: Illinois | Penn State

Individual Leaders

Illinois Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Willia... 57.7 1632 12 7 Chares... 50.0 382 2 2

Penn State Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Clark 60.9 3003 24 10 Newsom... 72.7 66 0 0

Illinois Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD LeShou... 108 734 6.8 5 Ford 97 588 6.1 4

Penn State Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Royste... 205 1169 5.7 6 Green 71 319 4.5 3

Illinois Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Benn 38 490 12.9 2 Duvalt 23 361 15.7 3

Penn State Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Moye 48 785 16.4 6 Zug 46 600 13.0 7

Full Player Stats: Illinois | Penn State

During a non-conference schedule in which its toughest game was a 31-point victory, Penn State's biggest on-field issue was determining whether the injured Joe Paterno would coach from the sidelines or the press box.

This week, the Nittany Lions have to be much more concerned with the whereabouts of Juice Williams than those of their legendary coach.

After rolling through non-conference play, No. 12 Penn State faces a much stiffer challenge Saturday night as it opens Big Ten play at home against Williams and 22nd-ranked Illinois.

The Nittany Lions (4-0) haven't been challenged in their first four games, compiling the nation's top scoring differential at 42.8 points. They have the country's sixth-ranked offense (538.5 yards per game) and seventh-ranked defense (222.3 ypg), and have scored more points in four contests than any team in the 122-year history of the program.

Penn State fumbled five times -- losing one -- while Daryll Clark threw his first interception Saturday against Temple, but the Lions still put up 546 yards of offense in a 45-3 win.

"We want to play and move on and start playing in the Big Ten," co-offensive coordinator Jay Paterno said. "Everyone can talk about how well we are doing and what we are doing on the field, but we have to go play and compete."

Penn State is relatively healthy, but its one injury of note is to Joe Paterno, who's been bothered by a sore right leg since the 81-year-old coach attempted an onside kick at practice several weeks earlier. He spent time on the sidelines and in the press box against Temple, but says he's hopeful he'll be back downstairs against Illinois.

"We know he's a fighter," said the Lions' Deon Butler, who has 229 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns. "If we get tired or banged up, we just look to him, what he's going through and push harder to go through it."

The Nittany Lions' other personnel issue has been the absence of starting defensive linemen Maurice Evans and Abe Koroma, who have missed the past three games after each was charged with one misdemeanor count of possession of a small amount of marijuana.

The two returned to practice earlier this week, though Paterno remained mum on whether they'd suit up Saturday.

Penn State could use both -- particularly Evans, who had 12 1/2 sacks last season -- to chase Williams around. Illinois' junior quarterback has thrown for 450 yards in a game this season and run for 174 yards in another, confirming his status as one of the top dual-threat players in the country.

Williams threw five touchdown passes as the Illini (2-1) lost their opener to Missouri in St. Louis on Aug. 30, but he's only thrown two in their two wins. He was 13-for-25 for 147 yards with a TD and an interception in Illinois' last game, a 20-17 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette on Sept. 13.

"My performance wasn't good enough," Williams said. "A lot of times it's a big play that sparks us, but we didn't have that play today."

Williams hasn't made many big plays in two games against Penn State. He went 13-for-33 with two interceptions in a 26-12 loss at State College in 2006, and was 11-for-24 with a touchdown and two interceptions Sept. 29 in Champaign.

Illinois won that game 27-20, however, forcing four Nittany Lions turnovers and getting a big game from Arrelious Benn. The wideout had six catches for 84 yards and a touchdown, and also took a kick return back 90 yards for a score.

Benn, a sophomore, has 15 catches for 150 yards and has rushed for two touchdowns this season.

Unlike last season, Illinois will face a Nittany Lions team with a dual threat under center. Clark offers Penn State a run-pass option that Anthony Morelli -- who threw three interceptions and was sacked four times in last year's loss to the Illini -- never did.

Clark, who has thrown seven touchdowns and run for two this season, can also rely on a pair of elusive tailbacks. Evan Royster (8.1 yards per carry) and Stephfon Green (7.3) rank second and third in the Big Ten in that category and have combined for 11 touchdowns.

Penn State has won all five meetings with Illinois at Beaver Stadium. The Lions have won 23 of their last 25 games at home.