Post by el_duderino on Sept 24, 2008 22:27:22 GMT -5
Mentioned this would come early, as I fully plan to be traveling back to State tomorrow after work.
And so the season begins. Or at least, so we're led to believe. After 4 walkover games against poor-to-mediocre teams, the Big Ten schedule opens up with a serious challenge on our hands. And while many people believe the true Penn State team has to show up (be it a good team, bad team, or otherwise), there may be more questions about this incoming team from Illinois.
Oh, they have their offensive weapons. Juice Williams is a very elusive QB, who trained with Donovan McNabb in the off-season. On the plus side, this means he's more adept at throwing the ball two yards short of his wide open receiver. ;D At RB, Daniel Dufrene steps in to try and replace Rashard Mendenhall. Dufrene is decent, but nowhere near the talent and explosiveness as Mendenhall. Their last big threat is WR and kick returner Arrelious Benn - tall speedster that can quickly turn around a game. Their biggest defensive playmaker is junior CB Vontae Davis - one of the best in the nation.
But we still don't really know how good they are. They lost in a shoot-out to a very good Missouri team to open the season - showed the offense was good, but the defense was very weak. The following week, they rumbled through Eastern Illinois - another good offensive showing, but still some holes on defense. (Heck - they allowed the EIU RB to run for 186 yards on only 15 carries!!) Then a game against the Ragin' Cajuns of Louisiana-Lafayette ended up being a close contest. More surprisingly, things seemed to flip - the run defense was strong, but the UL-L QB was extremely accurate (71.4% completions). Dufrene led the offense, while the Juice just wasn't up to snuff. The bye week last week lets many questions linger coming into Saturday's game.
On an unrelated note, does anyone else realize this is the third Orange-clad team we've faced this year?
So where does this leave Saturday night's game? Illinois still looks shaky against the run, and their pass defense has been exploited at times. Clark also gives Illinois its first real test against a fully mobile QB - another dimension to worry about. And something tells me this will be the start of some new freedom for Clark. On the other side of the ball, the biggest task will be containing Juice. I'm less concerned with giving up a pass here and there, and more concerned about letting Juice's scrambling become a major part of the game. The D-Line will be key - if they can keep the run/scramble game fairly contained (I'm not expecting superhero efforts), Illinois may find itself struggling much like the their game against the Ragin' Cajuns (that's just fun to say).
I'm going to have to base this prediction that Evans and Koroma do NOT play on Saturday. I expect them to get some play time - probably not start, but will see a regular rotation - but nothing has been confirmed. As such, I'm expecting a decent shoot-out, with Penn State's defense showing up when called upon. Beaver Stadium, under the lights, in a White House - Penn State takes this one, 44-24.
And so the season begins. Or at least, so we're led to believe. After 4 walkover games against poor-to-mediocre teams, the Big Ten schedule opens up with a serious challenge on our hands. And while many people believe the true Penn State team has to show up (be it a good team, bad team, or otherwise), there may be more questions about this incoming team from Illinois.
Oh, they have their offensive weapons. Juice Williams is a very elusive QB, who trained with Donovan McNabb in the off-season. On the plus side, this means he's more adept at throwing the ball two yards short of his wide open receiver. ;D At RB, Daniel Dufrene steps in to try and replace Rashard Mendenhall. Dufrene is decent, but nowhere near the talent and explosiveness as Mendenhall. Their last big threat is WR and kick returner Arrelious Benn - tall speedster that can quickly turn around a game. Their biggest defensive playmaker is junior CB Vontae Davis - one of the best in the nation.
But we still don't really know how good they are. They lost in a shoot-out to a very good Missouri team to open the season - showed the offense was good, but the defense was very weak. The following week, they rumbled through Eastern Illinois - another good offensive showing, but still some holes on defense. (Heck - they allowed the EIU RB to run for 186 yards on only 15 carries!!) Then a game against the Ragin' Cajuns of Louisiana-Lafayette ended up being a close contest. More surprisingly, things seemed to flip - the run defense was strong, but the UL-L QB was extremely accurate (71.4% completions). Dufrene led the offense, while the Juice just wasn't up to snuff. The bye week last week lets many questions linger coming into Saturday's game.
On an unrelated note, does anyone else realize this is the third Orange-clad team we've faced this year?
So where does this leave Saturday night's game? Illinois still looks shaky against the run, and their pass defense has been exploited at times. Clark also gives Illinois its first real test against a fully mobile QB - another dimension to worry about. And something tells me this will be the start of some new freedom for Clark. On the other side of the ball, the biggest task will be containing Juice. I'm less concerned with giving up a pass here and there, and more concerned about letting Juice's scrambling become a major part of the game. The D-Line will be key - if they can keep the run/scramble game fairly contained (I'm not expecting superhero efforts), Illinois may find itself struggling much like the their game against the Ragin' Cajuns (that's just fun to say).
I'm going to have to base this prediction that Evans and Koroma do NOT play on Saturday. I expect them to get some play time - probably not start, but will see a regular rotation - but nothing has been confirmed. As such, I'm expecting a decent shoot-out, with Penn State's defense showing up when called upon. Beaver Stadium, under the lights, in a White House - Penn State takes this one, 44-24.