The Nittany Lions will do battle with the visiting Illinois Fighting Illini on Saturday, looking to bolster their record and fatten the pocketbooks of bettors who back them.

The Nittany Lions sport records of 7-1 and 2-6 ATS heading into this matchup, while the Fighting Illini sit at 6-2 and 3-5 ATS on the season. The over under records are 1-5-1 for the Nittany Lions and 3-5 for the Fighting Illini.



View Illinois vs Penn State Odds and Stats.

Betting Line: If you're siding with the visitors in this one you'll find the Fighting Illini listed as 5.5-point underdogs. Meanwhile, the over under line will be set shortly.

Power Rankings / Prediction: According to the Power Rankings here at OddsShark it's the No. 13-rated Nittany Lions and the No. 16-rated Fighting Illini in this matchup. Predictive formulas point to a 33-31 win for the Nittany Lions on Saturday.



How They Match Up:
The game also pits Penn State's No. 89-ranked offense, averaging 23.2 PPG, against a Fighting Illini defense that ranks No. 15 this week at 18.1 PPG. The Nittany Lions aerial game is averaging 206.2 yards per game, more than the Fighting Illini secondary allows through the air, 187.1 YPG per game.

Defensively, the Fighting Illini feature the league's No. 20-rated road run defense, allowing 104.5 yards per game. Penn State, meanwhile, ranks No. 48 in rushing offense at home.

Illinois lost its last outing, a 21-14 result against Purdue on October 22. Illinois failed to cover in that game as a 3-point favorite, while the 35 combined points took the game UNDER the total.

Penn State was a 34-24 Sportsbook in their most recent outing on the road against Northwestern. They covered the 4–point spread as favorites, while the total score (58) made Sportsbooks of OVER bettors.


Illinois Fighting Illini Trends:
When playing in October are 6-4
When playing on grass are 3-7
After outgaining opponent are 6-4
When playing within the conference are 5-5

Penn State Nittany Lions Trends:
When playing in October are 8-2
When playing on grass are 7-3
After being outgained are 8-2
When playing within the conference are 8-2

A few Fighting Illini at Nittany Lions trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Illinois's last 6 games when playing Penn State
Illinois is 7-2 SU in its last 9 games
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Illinois's last 10 games
Illinois is 6-15 SU in its last 21 games on the road
Penn State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Penn State is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Illinois
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Penn State's last 6 games when playing Illinois
Penn State is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home


Next up:
Illinois home to Michigan, Saturday, November 12
Penn State home to Nebraska, Saturday, November 12