The No. 15/13 Penn State Nittany Lions dropped a heart-breaking loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes for the second straight year last Saturday night in Happy Valley and will now hit the road for the first time in 2009 to try to get back on track against the Illinois Fighting Illini. The game will be played at Memorial Stadium at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

The Nittany Lions lead the all-time series versus Illinois 11-3 but the Illini knocked off Penn State the last time they played in Memorial Stadium in 2007. The Nittany Lions won last year’s meeting 38-24 in Beaver Stadium.

Penn State (3-1, 0-1) will look to shake their four-turnover game against Iowa in which Daryll Clark threw three interceptions and Evan Royster fumbled once. Jeremy Boone also had a punt blocked for a touchdown and Clark gave up a safety in the end zone when he fumbled and an offensive lineman fell on the ball.

Illinois (1-2, 0-1) is still looking for their first touchdown of any kind from senior QB Juice Williams, as they head into their fourth game of the season. Williams is 31-53 for 256 yards and three interceptions so far. He also has a team-high 29 rushes for 94 yards on the season.

It will be interesting to see how Penn State defends against a mobile QB that likes to run, as it is the first time they will face one this season.

It seems like it should be a mismatch when the Illinois offense is on the field against the Penn State defense by looking at the numbers. The Nittany Lions defense is only allowing 10.2 points per game, which is sixth best in the country and number one in the Big Ten. The Fighting Illini are only averaging 18.0 points per game on offense and were shutout at Ohio State last Saturday.

One reason Illinois has been sluggish on offense is that their best receiver, Arrelious Benn injured his ankle in the season open against Missouri and then missed their second game against Illinois State. He returned to the lineup last week and caught four balls for only 33 yards. He has burned the Nittany Lions in the past and will be the best receiver that the new look secondary has faced so far this season.

Penn State LB Sean Lee, who missed the Iowa game, is listed as possible on the injury report. Navarro Bowman had strong game last week for Penn State against Iowa and getting Lee back would only help the defense more.

On the other side of the ball, the Nittany Lions will look to cut down on the turnovers. They are currently averaging a negative one in turnover ratio, which is tied for 98th in the nation.

The offensive line also needs to mesh and a unit of five needs to come together. Last Saturday against the Hawkeyes the unit was man-handled for a good part of the game. DeOn’tae Pannell was replaced by Nerraw McCormack at right tackle during the Iowa game so it will be interesting to see who gets the start at Illinois.

This is an important game for both teams. Illinois is looking to not drop to 1-3 overall and 0-2 in the Big Ten in front of their home fan base and Penn State wants to remain in the hunt to win a Big Ten championship still in 2009. Both teams view this as a must win, so who will come out on top?