| Illini worry about Nittany Lions' bite Illinois-PSU matchup not usually positive for Illinois
Illinois' memories of playing Penn State have been more nightmarish than fond. Let's take a trip down memory lane, shall we? Remember PSU quarterback Rashard Casey's spin-o-ramic TD shuffle last season? How about linebacker LaVar Arrington's crushing, mid-air tackle on Illini fullback Elmer Hickman in 1998? To say it's been ugly in the teams' past three meetings is an understatement. Penn State has shellacked Illinois by an average of 27 points, including a 41-6 squash three years ago. "They're a great football team, and we haven't played very good games against them," junior quarterback Kurt Kittner said of PSU, which is 8-1 all time against Illinois. Illinois has yet to defeat Penn State during the tenure of fourth-year coach Ron Turner, but it looks to end that streak Saturday when it travels to Happy Valley. Penn State is one of five teams that Illinois seniors have yet to upend while with the program. Michigan State, Minnesota, as well as Purdue and Wisconsin, who are off the Illinois docket this season, are the other four. "I know some of us upperclassmen have talked about how that's a team we haven't beaten. A few times they beat us rather badly," senior defensive end Fred Wakefield said. "We feel like we're playing a lot better now, so it's a win we want to get." And if there is a time to topple Penn State, it's this season. Joe Paterno's boys are off to a 2-5 start, their worst since 1936. Nonetheless, Illinois is very cautious of Penn State, which has shown it can step up and bite a team, as it did in its 22-20 win against Purdue on Sept. 30. "You really can't look at records because that's how people get upset," junior tailback Rocky Harvey said. "They're going to have the mindset to pretty much destroy us." "I'm not even looking at their record. I'm looking at tape and I see a very, very good football team," Turner said. "I see a football team you expect from Penn State." But the Nittany Lions have been far from their dominant selves this season. On top of the loss of three defensive standouts to the NFL, including top-five draft picks Courtney Brown and LaVar Arrington, the team has had its share of ups and downs this season. Paterno had to deal with the off-the-field troubles of his starting quarterback, senior Rashard Casey, who was accused of assaulting a police officer in the off-season. Once the season began, the team got off to an 0-2 start, the first time that has happened since 1990. The team rebounded with wins in two of its next four games, before Minnesota dealt it a 25-16 loss Oct. 7. But, Penn State has yet to lose to Illinois at home and Joe Paterno has never dropped a game to the Illini (6-0 all-time). Add the fact that Penn State has its Homecoming this Saturday after a bye week, and what you have is an interesting matchup. "I know they're a great football team, I know they'll be ready to play," Kittner said. "I know they'll be fired up — it's Homecoming at their place and it's just a hard place to play in ... we have to be ready to go in there and play in a hostile environment." And Penn State's Beaver Stadium is one of the toughest places to play in the country. PSU has won more than 81 percent (191-44) of its games at the 93,000-plus seat facility, which has been sold out for all but one of its last 135 games. A sellout is expected this weekend as well. "It's just going into another stadium with a huge crowd and being able to play. They have a great tradition there and fans will show up whether they're winning or losing," Kittner said. "We have to be ready to go in and deal with that and not be bothered by it." Illinois hopes this road game will turn out better than its last trip to State College — where the Illini were shutout, 27-0 — and its 44-10 drubbing at the hands of Minnesota three weeks ago. If anything, last Saturday's 31-0 Homecoming win against Iowa, a game in which Kittner threw for three touchdowns and the defense forced four turnovers, was a source of hope for Illinois, which is now 4-2, 1-2. "I think we got things done on both sides of the football, and that's something we haven't done in awhile," Kittner said of the Iowa win. "To get back to our old form and the way we're used to play, it put a lot of confidence back in us." Illinois will also look to regain the road warrior form it had last season, when it was 5-1 and won crucial games at Michigan and Ohio State. "We have a lot of confidence on the road, it seems like. I think until a few weeks ago, we felt more confidence on the road than we had at home," Wakefield said. "As bizarre as that may sound, that's just something we just seem to get up for as a team." |
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