Here are the 3 questions to monitor in Penn State football’s matchup with Illinois
Penn State football will try to bounce back Saturday, two weeks after its first loss of the season. The Nittany Lions will take on the Illinois Fighting Illini at noon in Beaver Stadium in the program’s homecoming game.
The Nittany Lions fell to the Iowa Hawkeyes Oct. 9 at Kinnick Stadium in a tight 23-20 matchup that was turned on its head after Penn State starting quarterback Sean Clifford left the game with an injury.
Saturday’s game will feature one of the best teams in the Big Ten in the Nittany Lions — who are 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the conference — and one of the worst in the Illini — who are 2-5 overall and 1-3 in the conference.
Illinois’ only conference win came in Week 0 when it took on Nebraska and won, 30-22. The team’s nonconference win came against Charlotte by a score of 24-14.
Let’s take a look at the three questions that will factor into the outcome of this week’s game between the Nittany Lions and the Fighting Illini.
Who will start at quarterback?
Penn State head coach James Franklin has yet to make a decision on who will start at quarterback following Clifford’s undisclosed injury against the Hawkeyes.
Franklin did not rule Clifford out on Tuesday but said redshirt sophomore Ta’Quan Roberson — who filled in for the starter against Iowa — and true freshman Christian Veilleux will split reps this week in practice. One day after Franklin’s initial comments — after Clifford was seen practicing — he said the three quarterbacks split the reps evenly, with each getting one-third of the action.
Roberson has had more collegiate game action than Veilleux — who has none — but has not been able to widen the gap on the depth chart.
“A player that’s been in the program a couple years should really be widening that gap and a player that’s been in the program less amount of time, he’s gotta close that gap as much as he can,” Franklin said at his Tuesday press conference. “But you also have to factor in the number of reps that they’ve been able to get in practice and the number of reps that they’ve been able to hopefully get in games. ... That also makes the argument, if it’s close, it really shouldn’t be. The guy that’s been in the program for a long time and the guy that’s getting the most reps should be able to widen that gap.”
Clifford will surely start if he’s able, but the decision Franklin has to make if he can’t go will dictate much of how the team will play and how it will move forward if the usual starter must miss extended time.
Does the game plan on offense change?
That brings us to this question. Depending on who starts at quarterback for Penn State, the offense could look very different. Clifford starting would, naturally, mean more of the same that had the unit and the team well on its way to a 6-0 start before his injury.
Things can change more drastically if Roberson or Veilleux start. Neither has much game experience and both have different strengths. Roberson showed he could take off when necessary and earn extra yardage and has showed good accuracy in practice sessions open to the media.
That did not translate to the field against Iowa, but that may have been an outlier performance considering the circumstances — facing a top-5 defense, on the road in his first meaningful playing time.
Veilleux taking control would be the biggest change, with the freshman not being the athlete neither Clifford nor Roberson is and not having the same running ability. What he does have, however, is a stronger arm with more of a propensity to complete deep throws than his position mates. Playing the true freshman could be a risk, but could also produce plenty of offensive excitement for the Nittany Lions.
Who will step up at defensive tackle?
Clifford’s injury wasn’t the only one the Nittany Lions suffered against Iowa. Senior defensive tackle PJ Mustipher went down in the first quarter of the game and was declared out for the season during Penn State’s by week by Franklin.
Finding his replacement will involve looking at multiple options.
“(Dvon Ellis and Coziah Izzard) have been good,” Franklin said. “And we’ve also amped up the opportunities for Amin Vanover and talked to him about putting some weight on for the last couple weeks, he’s done a good job of that. Jordan van den Berg is another guy that we’ve been amping up his reps and opportunities and meeting time as well.”
Ellis and Izzard seem like the most direct replacements, with both getting time in Mustipher’s absence against Iowa. Both have the upside to be impactful players but lack the consistency of a player like Mustipher.
If the team’s plan is to go straight for upside and bypass other qualities, Vanover could be an interesting choice as a player who compares favorably to Hakeem Beamon — who Franklin ruled out for the season in September for an undisclosed reason. Vanover has the same type of athleticism and explosion of that line that could make him particularly valuable in pass rushing situations.
Regardless of who starts in Mustipher’s stead, it’s more likely than not that multiple players will have to pick up the slack in order to replicate the senior’s lost production.
