Early Odds: Penn State opens as a heavy favorite over Illinois

It’s game week! The Penn State football team can turn its attention to their first conference game of the season. The Nittany Lions will hit the road to take on the Illinois Fighting Illini. This will be the first career road start for QB Drew Allar. Penn State took care of Delaware this past weekend, and Illinois suffered their first loss of the season to Kansas, the spread has opened up. But just how much of a favorite will Penn State be on Saturday?

Penn State opens as a heavy favorite over Illinois

The early line has been set by FanDuel Sportsbook for Penn State vs. Illinois. Penn State has opened as a 15.5-point favorite in their first Big Ten game of the season. This is due to the fact that the Nittany Lions have played like one of the best teams in the conference to open their season. While after a very successful 2022 season, the Illini have suffered a slow start in 2023.

It took a last-second field goal to defeat the Toledo Rockets from the Mid-American Conference in week 1. Then, last Friday night Illinois continued to struggle and suffered its first loss of the season to the Kansas Jayhawks. The final score on Friday night was Kansas 34 to 23.

Penn State vs. Illinois will be part of FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff. Also, the Nittany Lions will be playing in an Orange Out in their conference opener.

Drew Allar makes his first career road start

Penn State football QB Drew Allar has been near perfect in his first two starts. Both games have been at home in a comfortable environment, but this will be an interesting test for the young QB. Now, I’m not going to sit here and tell you this is one of the most challenging places to play. Also, you wonder what the fan interest level is after a disappointing start to the season. But either way, it will be great to see Allar face some adversity to see how he responds.

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