Rivals.com: Rivals Football & Basketball Recruiting - Penn State Football Opponent Preview: Illinois Fighting Illini (2024)

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Salary: $6,000,000 per year
Overall Record: 115-77
Record at Illinois: 18-19
Record against Penn State: 3-4 (1-1 at Illinois)

Bret Bielema is a well known name to Big Ten fans.

He took over at Wisconsin when Barry Alvarez retired following the 2005 season. After posting a 68-24 record with 3 Big Ten Championships in Madison, he left for Arkansas. Bielema struggled with the Razorbacks posting a 29-34 record in five seasons. After three years coaching in the NFL, Bielema returned to college football when he took over as the head man in Champaign following the 2020 season.

Offensive Coordinator: Barry Lunney Jr.

- Points Per Game: 24.5
- Yards Per Game: 391.0
- Passing Yards Per Game: 264.6
- Rushing Yards Per Game: 126.4

Defensive Coordinator: Aaron Henry

- Points Allowed Per Game: 29.4
- Yards Allowed Per Game: 378.3
- Passing Allowed Yards Per Game: 228.1
- Rushing Allowed Yards Per Game: 150.2

Last season the Nittany Lions went into Champaign and defeated the Fighting Illini 30-13 in game that was a bit closer than the final score. In his first career road start, Drew Allar struggled, and the Nittany Lion offensive line had their hands full with future first-round pick Jer'Zhan Newton.

On paper, losing top running back Reggie Love III (which we will discuss more later) to the transfer portal looks like a tough blow for Illinois. However, they still return a pair of good running backs in Kaden Feagin and Josh McCray, and they have added four-star freshman Ca'lil Valentine to the mix.

Luke Altmyer is one of the more underrated quarterbacks in the Big Ten and is also a threat with his legs. Wide receiver will be a big question mark for the offense with Isaiah Williams and Casey Washington gone, but it is a position Illinois addressed heavily via the transfer portal.

Despite losing Newton to the first round of the draft, the Illinois defense should still be solid this fall. They return a lot of production highlighted by Seth Coleman and Dylan Rosiek, and added multiple defensive line reinforcements via the transfer portal. Also, an already experienced secondary will get help from the transfer portal, as well as the return of Demetrius Hill who missed all of last season with a torn ACL.

It was a busy offseason for Bielema and the Illini in the transfer portal.

Former Texas defensive back Terrance Brooks was one of the best defensive backs in the transfer portal and should play a big role in their defense this fall. Offensive line transfer J.C. Davis and wide receiver transfer Zakhari Franklin should both earn starting roles. Anthony Johnson, Dennis Briggs Jr., and Enyce Sledge should all compete for playing time on the defensive line as well.

After rushing for 567 yards and 4 touchdowns last season, Reggie Love III decided to transfer out of Illinois to fellow Big Ten foe Purdue. A familiar name to Nittany Lion fans is four-star offensive lineman who chose Illinois over Penn State and Michigan State out of high school. However, after enrolling at Illinois in January he entered the transfer portal in the spring and committed to Michigan State.

The Illini also lost some key defensive pieces, even if they were only depth pieces, to the portal. Defensive back Tahveon Nicholson and defensive lineman Sed McConnell each played in 12 games last season, while defensive backs Zachary Tobe (10 games) and Elijah Mc-Cantons (8 games) also saw a lot of playing time last season.

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