By Skip Charles in Vegas
A week before its showdown with Ohio State, Penn State lost to perennial Big Ten cellar-dwellar Illinois, 20-18 at home.
The Illini entered with a 2-5 record and were 23 1/2-point underdogs against the No.7-ranked Nittany Lions.
But Penn State allowed more than 300 rushing rushing yards and Illinois tied the game at 10 in the fourth quarter.
The two teams went on to trade field goals and missed opportunities until Illinois won in the ninth overtime. That’s right: nine overtimes.
No FBS college football game had ever gone into eight overtimes.
Entering the game, the Nittany Lions only loss on the season was to No. 11-ranked Iowa earlier this season. They travel to Columbus next week.
