Like Penn State, Illinois faces QB uncertainty in Week 8
Penn State isn’t the only team in this weekend’s matchup with some uncertainty revolving around the status of its starting quarterback. Illinois head coach Bret Bielema says he is unsure if the Illini will have their starting quarterback available or not as well.
Brandon Peters was taken out of a game at Wisconsin two weeks ago with an undisclosed injury. Peters was taken out after being sacked in the second quarter. Now, after a bye week, Illinois is still unsure if Peters will be available for their road trip to Penn State this weekend.
While speaking to reporters on Monday, Bielema confirmed Peters has not been cleared to return to the field yet. As of Monday afternoon, there was no further update on the status of Peters amid a number of injury updates.
#Illini Bielema on injuries: Brandon Peters not cleared yet, waiting on tests back from Jake Hansen but don’t expect him back this week. Mike Epstein likely out for year. Likely getting Deuce Spann and Seth Coleman back
— Bret Beherns (@WCIA3Bret) October 18, 2021
Peters has been banged up this season, so Illinois has had to roll with former Rutgers quarterback Artur Sitkowski a bunch of times this season. Sitkowski has made a case for arguably being the more reliable option for the Illini with a slightly higher completion percentage, six touchdowns to one for Peters and just four sacks taken as opposed to the 11 Peters has taken this season.
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No matter who is playing quarterback for the Illini, they will face a stiff challenge from the Penn State defense. After taking a loss at Iowa, Penn State’s defense will be looking to set the tone for a rebound in front of their home fans this week.
Penn State, of course, is also facing some uncertainty with its quarterback position. Sean Clifford left Penn State’s most recent game two weeks ago at Iowa and there has been no significant update on his status in the short term. Penn State went with Ta’Quan Roberson in relief of the injured Clifford for the remainder of the Iowa game and it was far from effective. But a home game with extra time to get in some practice reps should make for a much different story against Illinois this week if it comes to that.
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