STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Reminders of Penn State’s last unbeaten season have been all over Happy Valley this week, serving as inspiration for Drew Allar and his teammates.
The 1994 team will be honored when the No. 9 Nittany Lions host No. 19 Illinois on Saturday,
“It’s super cool that the special season they had in ’94 still lives on to this day,” Allar said. “That’s something that we talk about throughout the team, trying to replicate something like that.”
First they’ll need to get by a rising Illinois squad. The Illini (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) travel to Beaver Stadium with confidence. They’re undefeated through four games for the first time since 2011 and just the fourth time since 1936. They’ve knocked off a pair of ranked teams to get there.
“The part that our guys really relish in is we are always playing the underdog role,” Illinois coach Bret Bielema said. “We always say we don’t have one chip on our shoulder, we have two.”
The Nittany Lions (3-0, 0-0) have won four of the last five in the series. The last Illinois win came in 2021 in a defensive marathon that required nine overtimes.
Both offenses have come a long way since then.
Led by quarterback Luke Altmyer, the Illini have posted a pair of comeback wins against previously ranked opponents. He helped rally his squad to a 10-point fourth quarter in a 23-17 win over Kansas in Week 2. Altmyer led a tying drive, then tossed the winning touchdown in overtime last week at Nebraska.
The Nittany Lions had their best offensive game in nearly 100 years a week ago, going for 718 yards against a banged-up Kent State team.
“We took some significant strides last week,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “It’s something for us to build on, but obviously as we all know, when you get into Big Ten play, it’s different.”
Emerging hands
Franklin knows wide receiver was his team’s biggest question mark coming into the season, but he feels like that group has earned some praise.
Although tight end Tyler Warren leads the team with 16 catches, wideouts Tre Wallace, Omari Evans, Liam Clifford and Julian Fleming have been involved more in the process.
Wallace has regularly gotten separation, while Evans has developed into a speedy deep threat, averaging 25 yards per catch. Clifford and Fleming have impressed with their physicality as they work more into the rotation.
“They do a lot of the gritty work, the stuff that doesn’t get you onto ‘SportsCenter’ or necessarily the stats that all the receivers obviously want,” Allar said. “But they go about their business the right way.”
Altmyer’s path
Altmyer has improved after losing his starting spot late last season. All the signs were there in the summer when he discussed wanting to get better with offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Barry Lunney Jr.
Lunney didn’t sugarcoat his assessment for Altmyer, who tossed 10 interceptions to just 13 touchdowns last year and lost the starting gig to John Paddock with three games to play.
“To be honest, the openness and the eagerness and the vulnerability that Luke showed to grow in this past offseason has just been paid back tenfold,” Bielema said. “Not just with our coaches, with our players.”
Shuffling personnel
Penn State linebacker Dom DeLuca and cornerback Cam Miller are questionable after both left last week’s game with unspecified injuries.
If they can’t go, Penn State likely will use freshmen DaKaari Nelson and Anthony Speca more on defense. Speca led the team last week with five tackles.
Mic check
The noise level at Beaver Stadium is always a concern for opposing teams, but the home team might be a little more worried this time.
Penn State struggled with helmet communications on defense in its home opener against Bowling Green. It was simply too loud on the field for linebacker Kobe King to translate the call in his earpiece to the rest of his teammates, some of whom were making their first starts in the massive stadium.
It went much smoother last week. Penn State could use old-fashioned sideline signals Saturday, with the noise level expected to be much higher.
“If you’re not prepared for it, it creates some issues for you too,” Franklin said.
No. 19 Illinois (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) at No. 9 Penn State (3-0, 0-0)
Time/TV: 6:30 p.m. Saturday, NBC-5.
Line: Penn State by 17½.
Series: Penn State leads 21-6.
Facts & figures: Illini QB Luke Altmyer was sacked three times and threw four interceptions last year in a 30-13 loss to the Nittany Lions. He’s completing 71% of his passes this season and has thrown for 10 touchdowns with no interceptions. … Penn State TE Tyler Warren added to his arsenal of tricks with his first career touchdown pass last week. He has twice as many catches (16) as any teammate and is seventh nationally with 75.3 receiving yards per game. … Illinois is playing its third ranked opponent in four games and is on track to play five ranked teams in a seven-game stretch. … This is Penn State’s first Big Ten opener at home since 2015. … Penn State and No. 5 Tennessee are the only FBS teams averaging 250 or more passing and rushing yards per game.
