The 2006 meeting between Penn State and Illinois and this year's meeting have a lot in common: PSU was coming off a rough loss in primetime the week before (Michigan won 17-10 at Beaver Stadium and knocked out both Anthony Morelli and Daryll Clark, forcing Paul Cianciolo into his few minutes of meaningful action) and carried a hangover into a Noon Homecoming contest at home against an Illinois team who on paper, looked like a pushover.
