Oct. 30, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Following two weeks on the road, Penn State returns home to face Illinois on Saturday in the penultimate home game of the 2015 season.
The Nittany Lions (6-2, 3-1) will meet the Fighting Illini (4-3, 1-2) in a 12 p.m. (ESPN2) kick inside Beaver Stadium on Halloween. Penn State carries a great deal of momentum into the game following a thrilling victory at Maryland.
"We love every opportunity to play in Beaver Stadium," said head coach James Franklin. "We've had a lot of success in Beaver Stadium this season, and the fans have been a big part of that. We are looking forward to being back home after an exciting win last week."
Junior quarterback Christian Hackenberg steered the Nittany Lions to a 31-30 victory inside M&T Bank Stadium last week. Hackenberg became Penn State's all-time leader in passing yardage (7,453) and completions (608) in a 315-yard, three-touchdown effort against the Terps.
Hackenberg completed nine passes of more than 20 yards and averaged 24.2 yards per completion on his 13 completions. Wide receivers Chris Godwin, DaeSean Hamilton and Geno Lewis each notched touchdowns of 27 or more yards in the road victory.
Defensively, Carly Nassib extended his streak of games with a sack to eight in Maryland. Nassib tallied 2.0 sacks in the victory and continues to lead the nation in sacks (13.5) and tackles for loss (17.5). Nassib is now just 1.5 sacks off of the program record. As a team, the Nittany Lions have 74 tackles for loss and 32 sacks on the season.
Led by interim head coach Bill Cubit, Illinois travels to Happy Valley following a 24-13 setback at Wisconsin. The Fighting Illini opened the season 4-1, but have lost two-straight before entering the weekend. Illinois opened Big Ten play with a 14-13 victory over Nebraska before a 29-20 loss at Iowa and last week's game in Madison. Additionally, Illini went 3-1 in non-conference games with victories over Kent State (52-3), Western Illinois (44-0) and Middle Tennessee (27-25). The Illini dropped a 48-14 road decision at North Carolina.
In a series that dates back to 1954, Penn State and Illinois will meet for the 23rd time on Saturday. The Nittany Lions own a 17-5 mark in the all-time series. That includes an 8-1 record in games played in Beaver Stadium. The two teams have met annually since 2005. Three of the last four meetings in the series were decided by seven points or less. Penn State is 2-1 in those games.
Saturday's game will include celebration of all Commonwealth campuses on All-U Day. Two students from each of Penn State's 24 campuses will proudly represent their campus by carrying its banner onto the field during halftime. The game will also honor and recognize the incredible fundraising efforts of Penn State THON.
Penn State heads back on the road next week with a trip to Northwestern. The Nittany Lions and Wildcats will meet at noon (ET) in Ryan Field. Following the trip to Evanston, Penn State will have its bye week on Nov. 14.