Penn State Football Faces True Test in Week Five

Week five is a huge week in State College.  Although Wisconsin or Ohio State might be the biggest games of the year for Penn State, this game against the Fighting Illini is by far the biggest home game.

The Penn State-Illinois matchup is highlighted by the night game timing, the Penn State fans' "White Out," Penn State's conference opener, and two ranked teams.

Night Game

Night games are the loudest, craziest, and most energized games in State College.  The team gets pumped up.  The students get pumped up.  The rest of the fans get pumped up.  Tailgates tend start as early as noon for the best tailgating school in the nation and might last until 7:30 p.m. or later. 

After all this pre-game revelry, everyone is excited and ready for the matchup.  Each year, the night games prove to be some of the best games of the whole season for Penn State.

White Out

Uh-oh, Illinois!  You better watch out!  White Outs are the most anticipated games of the season.  Week two's Oregon State game was a student section White Out, but, when the whole stadium has a White Out, you have to be careful. 

Illinois will be blinded by the intense light that the fans create.  Nearly all fans will have a white pom-pom that they swing around to make Illinois dizzy.  Every play will have massive roars and screams.  Bells will ring.  People will shout.  This game might have the biggest and loudest crowd in years, which is impressive, since the crowds tend to be the biggest and loudest in the nation.

Conference Opener

This is when the "real" season starts.  The Big Ten is a very physical conference, and Penn State's O-Line and D-Line will truly begin to be tested.  This game might determine the rest of our season.  Penn State will look to continue to dominate on offense and defense against the Fighting Illini. 

If the Nittany Lions succeed, they should be able to dominate most of their Big Ten schedule.  Conference openers are significant for every team, as they determine where teams will probably end up in their conference standings.

Ranked Teams

This game is between the No. 15 Nittany Lions (who may be in the top 10 tomorrow when the polls come out) and the No. 23 Fighting Illini, who probably won't move up much because of their bye week.  Ranked games are huge for every college football fan in every conference. 

They are the most hyped up and the most watched games in college football.  Unfortunately for PSU and Illinois, their game will be competing with the prime time Alabama-Georgia matchup.  Penn State and Illinois are still likely to attract a lot of viewers.

Do you want a prediction?  Here's what I say:

Penn State has been dominant on offense and defense.  Penn State hasn't played anyone of substance but should be able to keep up relatively good numbers on both sides of the ball.

Illinois has an explosive offense but did not look good against UL-Lafayette.  I think the bye week has given Illinois a chance to look ahead.  Illinois played a good game against Missouri and lost, but Missouri struggled with Buffalo for three quarters.  

I believe this will be a relatively close game:  PSU by two touchdowns.