Illini vs Penn State

So the night is almost upon us. Penn State, and their recently reinstated 1-2 criminal punch on defense will host our beloved Illini. Before we delve into our synopsis, can we first mention that Joe Pa saying that the 2 suspended players would play Saturday is like saying "tomorrow we will have weather." Not many people (especially Vegas and gamblers, who have pushed a 14.5 point spread to 16.5) are giving coach Zook and the illini a chance in this game. Here is why we at Durty Butter feel Illinois can win.

1) Illini have had 2 weeks to prepare - Having an off week helped out in numerous ways. First and foremost it allowed injured players time to recover. Many Illini fans have heard about Donsay Hardemann. We have heard that before coming to Illinois, Donsay was not allowed to hit in practice because he injured too many teammates and similar stories. He was in competition for a starting spot at safety, and now we will get to see him in action. Josh Brent got some reps at DT and Cumberland got some at WR so having them back is also a plus adds depth at both positions.

Hopefully the coaches were able to correct some mistakes during an extra week of practice. When having only 4 days, you are more concerned with the next opponent rather than fundamental flaws of your team. Being given 2 weeks allows you to not only game plan, but also work on technique.

2) Defensive Line is healthy - Coming into the season our defensive line was considered to be our strong point, but injuries to Josh Brent and season ending surgery to Sirod Williams changed that. Now with Brent back, it moves Will Davis back to DE, and Corey Luiget is proving why he was one of the most heavily recruited DT's last year. Having all of these guys healthy allows, us to rotate 7-9 guys so people stay fresh, it allows for a better pass rush, and more importantly keeps blockers off our linebackers and safeties. In the ULL game you saw a much better push by our front four, which allowed Miller and Tez to flow to the ball and make good stops.

3) Well Balanced Offense - Illinois has led the Big Ten in rushing the last 2 years with Juice at quarterback. This season we still have a solid running attack, using Juice, Dufrene, Rejus, LeShoure, Ford, and Pollard in the backfield. However, now Juice is throwing better. He isn't great, but he is throwing at a level that does not allow teams to stack the box looking for the run. Teams will not be as susceptible to play action like OSU was last year, but teams will have more pressure on them to stop both. Add on to this a much better receiving corps, and this offense has many more weapons than we have had recently. Look for the Illini to get the ball to Rejus a lot, and also for Juice to find Uh-Oh open at TE. Lastly, you have Juices ability to scramble, which causes teams to use a linebacker or safety to spy.

4) Games played - Illinois already had to face Mizzou in a hostile environment. Durty Butter was there, and there was no way that the make up of the fans was 50-50, it was 65-35 at best. Penn State has not had to face a team like that yet. We all now that Oregon State was blown out by Penn State, and then turned around and beat #1 USC. We don't like using the transitive property when it comes to sports, which if were used now would mean that Penn State should be playing Stanford for the NC. Instead I feel that the Illini get an edge because they had to fight back into a game that they were down big. They could have easily rolled over, but they didn't. Also they had to win a close game, and put together a scoring drive late when the offense had clearly taken the week off. They have gained experience in different game situations that is very valuable.

5) Big time Players - On both sides of the ball we have players who have played in big games, and have showed up to play. Vontae Davis, Juice Williams, Rejus Benn, Daniel Dufrene, Britt Miller, both the offensive and defensive lines. These guys beat #5 Wisconsin last year, and beat #1 Ohio State, they have made big plays in big games. They have both won and lost on large stages, so they know what it is like, and they shouldn't be awestruck in this game.

Again this is all kool-aide driven, biased analysis. But based on what I have said above, we should at least cover.

To get you excited watch this:

The Rejus Benn Show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb5PnQzM7uI