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Gameday Coverage: No. 9 Penn State vs. No. 19 Illinois

It’s time to bring the energy, folks.

Penn State plays its first top-25 matchup of the season under the lights on Saturday as Illinois comes to town. Both the Nittany Lions and Fighting Illini are coming off big wins as Penn State opens up Big Ten play at home for the first time since 2015.

Here’s everything you need to know before Saturday’s primetime game.

Television

Penn State has the 7:30 p.m. slot on NBC with Noah Eagle serving as the play-by-play analyst. Penn State alum Todd Blackledge will join Eagle in the booth, while Kathryn Tappen will be the crew’s sideline reporter.

Radio

Penn State Sports Network — Steve Jones and Jack Hamm
Local: 99.5 & 103.7 FM/1450AM, Sirius/XM: 83 or 119

Weather

Saturday will be mostly cloudy and humid with a high of 72°, according to Accuweather. There is an 80% chance of precipitation coming later in the day.

Last Meeting

Penn State traveled to Champaign, Illinois, last season and defeated the Illini 30-13.

Injuries

Linebacker Dom DeLuca and running back Cam Wallace both left the game against Kent State with injuries and weren’t seen during the media practice viewing session on Wednesday. James Franklin didn’t have an update as to whether either of their injuries were long-term.

The team will also be without safety K.J. Winston and tight end Andrew Rappleyea, who are both out with long-term injuries.

Betting Lines

Penn State opened as 18-point favorites over the Fighting Illini.

Media Coverage

Onward State will have you covered throughout today’s game. Find big plays, analysis, photos, and more on our main Twitter account @OnwardState as well as play-by-play commentary from @OnwardStSports.

Football writers C.J. Doebler (@CDoebler), Nolan Wick (@nolan_wick), and Mitch Corcoran (@MitchCorc18) will provide you with coverage from inside the press box, while photographers Hailey Stutzman (@stutzhailey) and Mikey DeAngelis (@mikey_deangelis) will provide visual updates from the field.

Onward State

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About the Author

CJ Doebler

CJ is a senior finance major and is Onward State's sports editor. He is from Northumberland, Pa, just east of State College. CJ is an avid Pittsburgh sports fan but chooses to ignore the Pirates' existence. For the occasional random retweet and/or bad take, follow @CDoebler on Twitter. All complaints can be sent to [email protected].

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