FOX43 — The Nittany Lions hit the road for their first true away game of the season as they travel to Illinois to take on the Fighting Illini. The Blue and White ranked in the Top Ten of both polls (10th AP/9th Coaches) and are coming in at almost four touchdown favorites (-27.5), but nothing should be taken for granted when you travel in the Big Ten, especially when it is the result of a scheduling quirk. Penn State is playing its first Friday night game regular season game since 1982.
A short week requires everyone to be on schedule and not waste a second, whether it be in the film room, practice field or even bed time.
"A big thing is going to be on the leadership of this team to make sure that guys are getting in watching a ton of film early and taking ownership of that and understanding that it's going to come quick. (We have) been talking about through this week that if you can get an extra 30 minutes a night you will end up making time up," said captain Trace McSorley.
Junior Linebacker Cam Brown added, "We got to be mature, we got to know we have to take care of our body in a different ways than we normally do. We have to be ready to pretty much put our heads right down in to practice full blown practice."
Asked if he thought how his young teammates would adjust to the schedule and if they freshman defensive players are ready for the Big Ten slate, Brown had this to say.
"They are all showing flashes of what they can do, and they are all playing well so I feel like honestly they are ready everybody is ready. I feel like the defense is getting to that point where we are ready for big ten play"
That is music to the fans ears. Kick-off for the Illinois game is set for just after 9 p.m. Friday night on FS1.
