{"id":508,"date":"2021-10-22T16:39:02","date_gmt":"2021-10-22T20:39:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.psu-ftlauderdale.com\/blog\/?p=508"},"modified":"2021-10-22T16:39:04","modified_gmt":"2021-10-22T20:39:04","slug":"7-penn-state-vs-illinois","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.psu-ftlauderdale.com\/blog\/?p=508","title":{"rendered":"#7 PENN STATE VS ILLINOIS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>Marina 84 is a wonderful venue for social distancing.\u00a0\u00a0Inside are booths with their own TV and the outside patio has ten 50+ televisions. The patio offers a lot of seating and is protected from the sun and rain<br><br><strong>PENN STATE WELCOMES ILLINOIS FOR HOMECOMING<\/strong><br>\u00a0\u2022 OPENING KICK: No. 7\/8 Penn State returns to Beaver Stadium to battle Illinois on Saturday. Kickoff is set for noon. The 2021 season is presented by PSECU.<br>\u2022 SERIES HISTORY: The Nittany Lions will meet Illinois for the 26th matchup. Penn State has won the last three contests, including a 56-21-win last season in Beaver Stadium. Jahan Dotson had a career-high 189 receiving yards, including touchdowns of 75 and 70 yards. Sean Clifford threw for 285 yards and two scores, while Keyvone Lee added 85 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Brandon Smith led the PSU defense with eight tackles, three tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.<br>\u2022 LIVING IN THE BACKFIELD: The Nittany Lions recorded a season-high 11 tackles for loss at Iowa. It marked the 25th time, since 2014, that Penn State recorded double-digit tackles for loss in a game. Arnold Ebiketie led the way with a career-high-tying 3.5 tackles for loss. Jesse Luketa set a career high with 2.5 tackles for loss, while Daequan Hardy and Curtis Jacobs both had a career-best 2.0 tackles for loss.<br>\u2022 TRIPLE THREAT: Jordan Stout continued a strong season handling field goal, kickoff and punt duties with his performance at Iowa. Stout averaged 50.4 yards per punt on five punts, including three 50+ yard punts and two inside the 20. He added five touchbacks on five kickoffs and converted field goals of 32 and 44 yards.<br>\u2022 THE OPPOSITION: Illinois is 2-5 this season, including a 1-3 mark in Big Ten play. The Fighting Illini fell 24-0 against Wisconsin on October 9. Sydney Brown and Tarique Barnes each recorded 12 tackles with Barnes adding a forced fumble. Kerby Joseph tallied nine tackles and an interception.<br><br><strong>HEAD COACH BRET BIELEMA<\/strong><br><br>\u2022 Bret Bielema was named Illinois\u2019 head coach in December 2020.<br>\u2022 Bielema has 24 years of collegiate coaching experience.<br>\u2022 He served as the head coach at Wisconsin from 2006-2012, helping the Badgers to a 68-24 record. Wisconsin won Big Ten Championships in 2010, 2011 and 2012 and reached six consecutive bowl games.<br>\u2022 Bielema was the head coach at Arkansas from 2013-17. The Razorbacks made three bowl appearances.<br>\u2022 After his time at Arkansas, Bielema served two years on the New England Patriots staff, including Defensive Line coach in 2019, and one season with the New York Giants as Outside Linebackers\/ Senior Assistant Coach.<br><br><strong>SCOUTING THE FIGHTING ILLINI<\/strong><br><br>\u2022 Illinois is 2-5 overall and 1-3 in Big Ten play this season.<br>\u2022 The Fighting Illini opened the season with a 30-22 win over Nebraska. They also own a 24-14 victory over Charlotte.<br>\u2022 Three of Illinois\u2019 five losses have come in one-score games.<br>\u2022 On offense, Illinois is averaging 17.7 points and 318.4 total yards per game.<br>\u2022 QB Artur Sitkowski leads Illinois with 666 passing yards and six touchdowns.<br>\u2022 RB Chase Brown is averaging 82.8 yards per game and 6.9 yards per carry. Brown also has three rushing touchdowns.<br>\u2022 RB Josh McCray is averaging 5.3 yards per carry.<br>\u2022 WR Isaiah Williams has a team-best 32 catches for 298 yards and a touchdown.<br>\u2022 On defense, Illinois is allowing 24.6 points and 427.9 total yards per game. \u2022 DB Sydney Brown paces the Illini with 48 tackles.<br>\u2022 LB Tarique Barnes has 42 stops with 1.5 for loss and a sack. \u2022 DB Kerby Joseph has 36 tackles, three interceptions and three fumble recoveries.<br>\u2022 LB Owen Carney Jr. leads Illinois with 5.0 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks.<br>\u2022 P Blake Hayes is averaging 45.5 yards per punt, including 10 punts of 50 or more yards.<br><br><strong>GENERATIONS OF GREATNESS<\/strong><br><br>\u2022 Penn State is turning back the clock for its \u201cGenerations of Greatness\u201d game, as the Nittany Lions will don uniforms with design elements from uniforms past.<br>\u2022 Penn State is wearing its \u201cGenerations of Greatness\u201d uniforms for the fourth time in the last five seasons. The threads debuted in 2017 against Indiana (W, 45-14) and Penn State donned them again against Purdue in 2019 (W, 35-7) and Iowa in 2020 (L, 21-42). Uniform Elements<br>\u2022 Numbers on Helmets \u2013 The Nittany Lions had the number on the side of their helmet from 1959-61 and then again from 1967-74. A No. 42 also appeared on the side of every Penn State helmet in the season finale against Wisconsin in 2012 to honor injured senior Michael Mauti.<br>\u2022 Block Uniform Numbers \u2013 The block uniform numbers are similar to those uniform numbers that donned the Blue &amp; White from mid-1950s-66.<br>\u2022 White Stripe on Sleeve \u2013 Penn State\u2019s uniform had a white stripe on the sleeve several times, including 1957-66, 1982-89 and 1992-2011.<br>\u2022 Stripe on the Pants \u2013 The Nittany Lions had a blue stripe on their pants from 1952-68. \u2022 Gray Facemask \u2013 The gray facemask was donned by the Nittany Lions from 1959-86.<br>\u2022 White Cleats \u2013 The white cleats were worn by the Nittany Lions in the 1979 Sugar Bowl.<br>\u2022 Gloves \u2013 The gloves will feature the Lion Shrine on the palm of the hands.<br>\u2022 Lion Shrine \u2013 The image of Lion Shrine appears on the \u201chome plate\u201d of the front of the jersey. It is an original element of the \u201cGenerations of Greatness\u201d uniform to pay homage to the Lion Shrine that was a gift from the Class of 1940.<br>\u2022 Back Inside Collar \u2013 The back inside collar of the jersey reads \u201cPenn State 1959\u201d in recognition of the first Liberty Bowl game, played in Philadelphia. Penn State defeated Alabama, 7-0.<br><br><strong>SUCCESS ON HOMECOMING<\/strong><br><br>\u2022 The Nittany Lions own a 72-23-5 record in 100 games in front of the alumni crowd since their 14-7 victory over Dartmouth in the first Homecoming game on Oct. 9, 1920.<br>\u2022 In 2019, Penn State earned a 35-7 win over Purdue.<br>\u2022 Penn State has won seven out of its last nine Homecoming tilts, defeating Purdue (2019), Rutgers (2017), Maryland (2016), Indiana (2015), Michigan (2013), Northwestern (2012) and Purdue (2011).<br>\u2022 The Nittany Lions have claimed 12 of their last 15 contests in front of the alumni crowd.<br>\u2022 This is the fourth time Penn State will square off against Illinois in a Homecoming game. The Nittany Lions are 2-1 with wins in 2000 (39-25) and 2006 (26-12).<br><br><strong>IN THE POLLS<\/strong><br><br>\u2022 Penn State sits No. 7 in the AP Poll and No. 8 in the USA Today\/ AFCA Coaches Poll. \u2022 The Nittany Lions are ranked in the Top 10 of the AP Poll for the sixth straight week. \u2022 Penn State is one of four Big Ten teams in the Top 10 in the AP Poll, including No. 5 Ohio State, No. 6 Michigan and No. 9 Michigan State.<br>\u2022 The Nittany Lions own two wins over Top 25 teams this season, defeating No. 12\/15 Wisconsin (16-10) and No. 22\/20 Auburn (28-20).<br><br><strong>IOWA NOTES<\/strong><br><br>\u2022 Four of the last five Penn State-Iowa meetings have been decided by one score.<br>\u2022 The Nittany Lions are 4-7 all-time in matchups where both teams are ranked in the top five of the AP Poll.<br>\u2022 Penn State has an all-time record of 101-23-1 when ranked among the Top Five.<br>\u2022 Dating back to the second half at Wisconsin, Penn State had scored in 21-straight quarters until the fourth quarter against Iowa.<br>\u00a0\u2022 The Nittany Lions allowed just 195 passing yards. It marks the 55th time Penn State has held an opponent under 200 passing yards since 2014.<br>\u2022 Penn State had a season-high 11 tackles for loss.<br><br><strong>MILESTONE WATCH<\/strong><br><br>\u2022 Sean Clifford is 286 yards shy of 6,500 career passing yards. &#8230; is 379 yards shy of 7,500 career total offense yards. &#8230; is 93 yards shy of 1,000 career rushing yards.<br>\u2022 Winston Eubanks is 145 yards shy of 3,000 career receiving yards.<br>\u2022 John Lovett is 102 yards shy of 2,000 career rushing yards.<br>\u2022 Brandon Smith is 12 tackles shy of 100 career tackles.<br>\u00a0\u2022 Jonathan Sutherland is 10 tackles shy of 100 career tackles.<br>\u2022 Parker Washington is 154 yards shy of 1,000 career receiving yards.<br>\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/psu-ftlauderdale.us8.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=0d5685eec7d4de8764e8c6969&amp;id=b08543e1ed&amp;e=489f4c4615\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/psu-ftlauderdale.us8.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=0d5685eec7d4de8764e8c6969&amp;id=1d99540acb&amp;e=489f4c4615\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a>\u00a0<strong>Come join us every Saturday at the\u00a0<\/strong><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/psu-ftlauderdale.us8.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=0d5685eec7d4de8764e8c6969&amp;id=323d149d73&amp;e=489f4c4615\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Marina 84,\u00a0<\/strong>2440 W State Road 84 West State Road 84, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312<\/a>\u00a0<strong>(just west of I95 on Marina Blvd.)\u00a0to watch your Nittany Lions football team. This is South Florida\u2019s Penn State meeting place.<\/strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"11\" height=\"8\" src=\"https:\/\/ci6.googleusercontent.com\/proxy\/IBlwwc23oAHu6nnRpCP4b0mCYmly91ZDO3CCjRY5AXcFx6RIa7TIwP-lxEJAkXvShKpVMC9EYqQxGxWcsq9EyRfzNAYyScsNA6Wu-JpA1A79C1fBJ95O4VYcdez5jywzMPk-cIbX-SgFGOa21y-bXVmG2ChBig=s0-d-e1-ft#https:\/\/mcusercontent.com\/0d5685eec7d4de8764e8c6969\/images\/4286f83a-8647-4878-8616-dfaa7f8fae19.png\"><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>2021-2022<\/strong><br><strong>Membership Application<\/strong>&nbsp;<br><strong>Name- &#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;-Year Graduated &#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;<\/strong><br><strong>Spouse. ________________________Year Graduated (if PSU) _____<\/strong><br><strong>Street. ____________________________________________ Apt. _________<\/strong><br><strong>City _______________________________ State. ____________ Zip _________<\/strong><br><strong>Phone ______________________ Email _____________________<\/strong><br><strong>Please no @<a href=\"http:\/\/psu.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">psu.edu<\/a>&nbsp;addresses, they expire one year after graduating&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/strong><br><strong>$20.00 Individual _$25.00 Family $. _______<\/strong><br><strong>I would like to contribute to Chapter Scholarship Fund $. _______<\/strong><br><strong>I would like to help plan an event _______<\/strong><br><strong>Total $ _______<\/strong><br><strong>Make checks payable and return to GFLCPSAA<br>516 Hendricks Isle Suite 5,<\/strong><strong>&nbsp;Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301<\/strong><br><a href=\"https:\/\/psu-ftlauderdale.us8.list-manage.com\/track\/click?u=0d5685eec7d4de8764e8c6969&amp;id=bc8eea2c93&amp;e=489f4c4615\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>www.psu-ftlauderdale.com<\/strong><\/a><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Marina 84 is a wonderful venue for social distancing.\u00a0\u00a0Inside are booths with their own TV and the outside patio has ten 50+ televisions. The patio offers a lot of seating and is protected from the sun and rain<\/p>\n<p>PENN STATE WELCOMES ILLINOIS FOR HOMECOMING<br \/>\u00a0\u2022 OPENING KICK: No. 7\/8 Penn State returns to Beaver Stadium to battle [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":509,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.psu-ftlauderdale.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/PSUvI.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.psu-ftlauderdale.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.psu-ftlauderdale.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.psu-ftlauderdale.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psu-ftlauderdale.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psu-ftlauderdale.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=508"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.psu-ftlauderdale.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":510,"href":"https:\/\/www.psu-ftlauderdale.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508\/revisions\/510"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psu-ftlauderdale.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.psu-ftlauderdale.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psu-ftlauderdale.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.psu-ftlauderdale.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}