Illini Football Adds Penn State As Its Additional Big Ten Game In 2020

For the eighth in the decade, Illinois will play Penn State as the Big Ten’s new 2020 schedule adds the Nittany Lions in Champaign for the Illini’s season finale.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- In its one additional Big Ten Conference game, Illinois was handed one of the powerhouses of the league.

Illinois drew Penn State as its fourth opponent from Eastern Division for a season-ending contest currently slated for Nov. 28. The addition of Penn State means the Nittany Lions joined the Eastern Division trio of Ohio State, Indiana and Rutgers on the Illinois schedule. Illinois will host Ohio State on Sept. 3 in a Thursday night season opener at Memorial Stadium representing the first Big Ten Conference scheduled game of the 2020 season.

The good news for Illinois is if they get to the 2020 season finale, which has some serious doubt as college football games continue to be scheduled for play during the coronavirus epidemic, they may not have to see arguably the league’s best defensive player. Yahoo! Sports reported late Tuesday night that Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons will sit out the 2020 season in order to prepare for the 2021 NFL Draft.

Parsons would join Minnesota wide receiver Rashod Bateman as the second high-profile Big Ten player to forgo the season. Batemean announced his decision to opt out on Tuesday morning.

Penn State has been to three New Year's Six bowl games and five straight Jan. 1 bowl games under head coach James Franklin. The Nittany Lions offense is projected to return eight starters including quarterback Sean Clifford, who tossed 23 touchdowns in his first season as a starter last year.

Penn State has won the last two matchups between the two teams by a combined score of 102-24 including a 63-24 blowout in Champaign in a 2018 game where Illinois actually held a 24-21 lead with 10:36 left in the third quarter but the Nittany Lions proceeded to score the game’s final 42 points including a 35-0 margin in the fourth quarter.

While fans got an opportunity to look at a list of potential opponents for a football season, the league officials are still publicly recognizing that starting and finishing this football season is still in a bit of peril due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren said Wednesday on Big Ten Network “it would be purely speculation at this point for me to sit here and say ‘this is what percent we will have a season’”.

NEW GAMES IN THE 2020 BIG TEN FOOTBALL SCHEDULES

• Penn State at Illinois

• Ohio State at Purdue

• Indiana at Minnesota

• Maryland at Iowa

• Michigan State at Nebraska

• Michigan at Northwestern

• Rutgers at Wisconsin

“While the conference remains hopeful for a September 2020 start in all fall sports, issuing a schedule does not guarantee that competition will occur,” the Big Ten Conference said in a media statement. “While our strategy is to continue planning for all fall sports, if the virus continues to spread among our students despite our many preventive measures, including testing and quarantine protocols, we are also prepared to delay or cancel competition pursuant to local and state public health orders or the recommendation of our medical experts.”