No. 9 Penn State meets No. 19 Illinois tonight for the right to stay unbeaten during the 2024 college football season. The Nittany Lions are a 17.5-point favorite ahead of kickoff, which is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC. It’s the Big Ten opener for head coach James Franklin’s team, which is 3-0 after a perfect non-conference stretch that included a bye during the first four weeks of the year. The Fighting Illini, meanwhile, come to town at 4-0 and already have one conference win under their belts after beating Nebraska in overtime last weekend. Pundits here at Blue-White Illustrated and across t…