No. 19 Illinois will have its biggest test yet when the Fighting Illini visit No. 9 Penn State in a showdown of ranked Big Ten teams Saturday night in Happy Valley. 

This is the best of Bret Bielema’s four Illinois teams, and it’s motivated to knock off a third-ranked opponent. Last Friday’s visit to Nebraska was good preparation for what awaits in Happy Valley.

QB Luke Altmeyer is playing with confidence with 10 touchdown passes and no interceptions. Through four games last year, Altmeyer had four TD passes and seven interceptions, including four picks in a loss to Penn State.

Penn State is coming off two wins over Mid-American Conference opponents. A week after struggling with Bowling Green deep into the second half, the Nittany Lions set a school record with 718 total yards in a 56-0 win over Kent State.

Drew Allar has the second-highest passer rating in the Bowl Subdivision. He’ll be going against a ball-hawking defense that already has 10 takeaways.