This Saturday will be the first without Penn State football since late August as the Nittany Lions enjoy a bye week before playing Nebraska; however, there are many other good games available that are worth paying attention to including a clash in Tuscaloosa between No. 1 LSU and No. 2 Alabama.
It snowed in October.
At least that was interesting.
Oh, and Penn State beat Illinois 10-7. I guess that happened as well.
Heading into the game, the teams were heading in opposite directions, with the Nittany Lions winning six straight, while the Illini had lost two in a row. Penn State was also looking to avenge a 33-13 loss to Illinois from last year at Beaver Stadium.
Penn State (7-1, 4-0 Big Ten) will face what Joe Paterno said will be its second toughest game of the season when the Nittany Lions take on Illinois (6-2, 2-2 Big Ten) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The Nittany Lions will be looking to remain in first place in the Big Ten Leaders Division with a win against the Illini. They will also be looking for revenge against an Illinois team that came in to Beaver Stadium and routed the Nittany Lions 33-13 last season.
In the third quarter, Dan Persa dropped back and threw the ball, as he did 33 other times for Northwestern against Penn State. This time, however, the pass was deflected and intercepted by Gerald Hodges. Silas Redd ran for a touchdown on the next play to put Penn State up, 34-24. Neither team would score again, and Penn State improved to 7-1 overall and 4-o in the Big Ten.
Penn State (6-1, 3-0 Big Ten) faces an interesting test when it takes on Northwestern (2-4, 0-3 Big Ten) on Saturday at 7 p.m. The Wildcats have not performed well this season, but they do seem to always give the Nittany Lions trouble. Last year, Northwestern jumped out to a big lead before Penn State came back to win, 35-21, for Joe Paterno's 400th victory. If Penn State's previous two road games are any indicators, this will be a close, error-filled affair in Evanston, Ill.
In a crazy game that featured three turnovers, several huge special teams plays and wind gusts reaching 52 miles per hour, Penn State was able to pull out a 23-18 win over Purdue. With the win, the Nittany Lions improve to 6-1 on the season and 3-0 in the Big Ten.