Illinois Fighting Illini vs Penn State Nittany Lions Prediction, 10/23/2021 College Football Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Illinois Fighting Illini vs Penn State Nittany Lions

Date: Saturday, October 23, 2021

Location: Beaver Stadium in University Park, PA

TV: ABC

Odds/Point Spread: Nittany Lions (-23.5)

Total/Over-Under: 46.5

Beaver Stadium is the location where the Penn State Nittany Lions (5-1) will take on the Illinois Fighting Illini (2-5) on Saturday. Penn State is 23.5-point favorites from Vegas oddsmakers. The betting total comes in at 46.5.

The Illinois Fighting Illini head into this game 2-5 this year. In their last matchup, the Fighting Illini faced off with the Wisconsin Badgers and took a loss by a score of 24-0. Chase Brown was the leader on the ground for the Fighting Illini with 8 attempts for 35 yds (4.4 yds per carry). Artur Sitkowski connected on 8/27 with 55 yards passing. He had a QB rate of 46.7 and finished the game without throwing an interception. In the running game, the Fighting Illini gave up 391 yds on 61 attempts, which is an average of 6.4 yards per run allowed. Illinois surrendered 10 completions on 19 attempts for 100 yds, and a completion rate of 52.6%. At the end of the game, they had 47 plays for 93 yds. The Illinois Fighting Illini ran the ball 13 different times and totaled 26 yards, which came out to an average of 2.0 yards per tote.

The Fighting Illini have tallied 2,195 total yards over the course of this year. When it comes to getting in the endzone, Illinois has totaled 7 passing touchdowns and 6 rushing touchdowns. They have turned the ball over 6 different times. Illinois has compiled 129 1st downs, and they have been called for 32 infractions for 330 yds. As a team they're averaging 159.9 yards via the ground game which has them sitting 75th in D-1. When it comes to putting the ball in the endzone, the Illinois Fighting Illini are averaging 17.7 points per outing.

When it comes to passing yards, the Fighting Illini are allowing 1,853 yards which has them ranked 131st in D-1. They have conceded 264.7 yards per game via the pass in addition to giving up a completion percentage of 64.2%. Overall, they are granting 428.4 yards per outing which puts them 113th in D-1. They have surrendered 11 touchdowns via the pass and 10 touchdowns via the ground game. They are allowing 4.4 yards per attempt on the ground and 163.7 rushing yards per contest on the season. For the season, they have given up 1,146 rushing yards through 7 games. The Fighting Illini are sitting in 77th in the nation regarding team defense, allowing 24.6 PPG.

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The Nittany Lions come into this game with a record of 5-1 for this season. In their last game, the Nittany Lions walked away with a loss by a score of 23-20 when they faced the Iowa Hawkeyes. Sean Clifford finished the contest with 146 yds on 15/25 passing while his quarterback rating was 93.1. He had 2 picks and his Y/A was 5.8. Keyvone Lee ran the football 10 times for 30 yds, finishing the game with 3.0 yards per carry for Penn State. Penn State ran the ball for 3.2 yds per carry, finishing with 107 yards on 33 attempts. The Nittany Lions finished the game with 287 yds while they ran 79 plays (3.6 yards per play). The Nittany Lions secondary allowed a completion percentage of 54.8%, relinquishing 195 yds on 17 for 31 through the air. Penn State gave up 45 running attempts for 110 yards (2.4 yards per rush).

The Penn State Nittany Lions are averaging 396.5 yards per outing, which has them ranked 68th in the nation. The Penn State offense has totaled 309 yards of penalties on 36 infractions, which ranks 86th in D-1 in terms of helping out the other team. During the season so far, the Nittany Lions have earned 1,610 yards through the air together with holding an average of 268.3 passing yards per outing, which has them sitting 35th in the country. When looking at their ability to score points, the Nittany Lions are sitting 70th in the country with an average of 28.3 points per contest.

Penn State has surrendered a total of 664 yards on the ground (110.7 yards per game) as well as 4 touchdowns rushing on the year. They have given up 4 touchdowns through the air and 201.3 yards per outing, which puts them in 43rd in D-1. The Nittany Lions defense has taken the field for 438 plays, which is good for 77th in the nation. The Nittany Lions are allowing 13.8 PPG, which has them 16th in D-1. This year, they have relinquished 83 total points.

Who will win tonight's Fighting Illini/Nittany Lions college football game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take the Nittany Lions -23.5

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